Help for Charlie the cat, a moggie that suffers from a rare condition which means he cannot walk unaided, has just received some help from an unlikely source; Kirkham Prison.
After wearing out the special mobility cart that was bought for him by Blackpool Gazette readers eight years ago, a new appeal was made by Christine Ashton, of St Anne’s Cat Rescue for a replacement.
Kirkham Prison came to the rescue after they found out that one of their inmates had experience making mobility harnesses for animals. The materials for the new mobility equipment for Charlie were supplied by Bamber Bridge-based aluminium supplier Simmal for free.
74 year old prisoner Roy Bennett, who built the wheelchair, said: “I used to run a rehabilitation centre and in the past I have made frames for alsations and even a three-legged Shetland pony.
“So when the prison saw the appeal in The Gazette and asked someone to help, I came forward. I was brought out to see Charlie and then built it over the weekend. It’s great to see him using it.”
Mrs Ashton added: “Charlie had worn the wheels out, and gone through two saddles in his old frame. It is incredible Roy was there at the right time to help him out.
“With his frame, Charlie can do almost everything a normal cat does. He loves rummaging through the bushes in the garden and chasing insects.
The only thing he cannot do is climb fences.”
Other donations came from Gazette readers and this money will be used for an all-terrain mobility cart from America so that Charlie can have support both inside and outside.
Head of reducing reoffending at Kirkham Prison, Phil Riding, said: “We were delighted to discover Roy had just the skills needed to help the charity out.”