WHEN Rose Fernandes' beloved shed started looking under the weather, a DIY store had the answer.

Rose's daughter, Maria Fernandes, realised her mum's carpeted and curtained 'den' had become little more than a leaky shack.

So she wrote to B&Q to ask for advice - and workers at the store's John Allen Centre branch in Oxford had the answer.

"We'll come and mend it," they said. They have been working at the Fernandes's home in Trefoil Place, Blackbird Leys, repairing the roof.

"The letter touched us all," said Mick Whitman, of Blackbird Leys, who, together with fellow worker David Taylor, of Barns Road, Cowley, decided to give up their day off to help.

He said: "We wanted to do something to help. It hasn't cost her anything. We put a new felt roof on and, as a little bonus, we painted it as well." Miss Fernandes, who has been cared for by her mum after having brain surgery last year, said: "Mum is fanatical about the shed. It is her own personal space. Some people gave us some very nice oriental rugs for the house when we moved here but Mum put them in the shed instead."

Mrs Fernandes said: "I was devastated when it started leaking - I have been putting down copies of the Oxford Mail to soak up the water."

Story date: Wednesday 14 April

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