A CHARITY has bought a special £800 unbreakable bed for a 20-year-old woman whose disability has caused her last three beds to break.

Ruby Merritt, from near Tockwith, west of York, has ADHD and Autism Spectrum Condition causing severe learning disabilities and behavioural issues.

Because she rocks backwards and forwards and bounces on her bed, the bed frame joints on previous beds have repeatedly crumbled.

Her mother Lena said: “She’d bang her feet against the bed as well, which would make a huge amount of noise and mean that it would take her quite a while to settle down at night.

“Occasionally there were nights when she wouldn’t go to sleep until the early hours of the morning. This would mean that not only would the whole family’s sleep be disrupted, but also that Ruby would not get the sleep she needed, which could mean her behaviour would be even more challenging the next day.

“Sometimes if she broke the bed in the night she would even have to sleep on a mattress on her floor which - although she found it a novelty - we knew wasn’t good for her as she has mild scoliosis, so we had to find a more permanent solution quickly.”

Now the charity Children Today has supplied the family with a specially adapted tough bed which, with no parts or bolts, is effectively unbreakable.

Lena said the bed was the ‘perfect solution,’ but she could never have afforded to buy it. However, she had realised that the charity, which she had previously donated to, might be able to help and she decided to make an application.

“When we found out we’d been awarded the funding we needed I just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “This bed means we now have so much more peace of mind that Ruby can’t hurt herself if she tries to break it, as there is nothing on it that can fall apart.

“Ruby settles down so much quicker at night now and is getting a lot more rest, which is having a positive knock-on effect on the rest of her life.

“She’s now going to a specialist college for young people with disabilities where she’s building skills that will help her live more independently. She’s got more opportunities for social interaction as well which means her self-confidence is coming on leaps and bounds and she’s really blossoming.

“Without this funding we would never have been able to have paid for the bed ourselves. The support we received from Children Today has really changed – not just Ruby’s – but all our lives for the better.”

Children Today said it provided funding for specialised equipment for children and young people with disabilities under the age of 25 across the UK but received no government funding and so was reliant on voluntary donations. To donate, go to www.childrentoday.org.uk