EXCLUSIVE by STEPHEN RYLANCE

A FORMER Mayor of Warrington was told there was no money in council coffers to provide him with an easy-access shower - but now he's getting by with a little help from his friends.

For two years, Harold Edwards MBE, of Cobden Street, Warrington, was unable to get into the bath and had to make a weekly trip to Woodley Day Care Centre so that he could shower.

Mr Edwards, 97, who is registered deaf and blind, was told by Warrington Social Services that he was ineligible for immediate help and would have to wait for up to three years to have a walk-in shower installed in his bungalow.

But when Mr Edwards was in hospital for four weeks after severely bruising his right lung in a fall at home, town leaders came to the rescue.

A memo was circulated to all council members, Warrington MPs Helen Southworth and Helen Jones, former Warrington South MP Mike Hall, MEP Brian Simpson, and council directors, asking them to help to pay for the £600 shower out of their own pockets.

One of Warrington's most respected and long-standing public servants, Mr Edwards was a lay preacher for 73 years and only retired at the beginning of this year.

He and his wife, Violet, who was also a Mayor of Warrington, are two of only three Honourary Freemen of the Borough, and both still attend every full meeting of the council.

After the accident, council leader John Gartside and director of social services David Whitehead personally visited Mr Edwards' home to ensure that the shower was installed in time for his return.

Violet, aged 73, said her husband was now on the mend and that they were both delighted with the shower.

But she added: "At the beginning, I could have crowned Social Services - they said our criteria weren't right and that older people didn't need to shower or bathe every day.

"That annoyed me more than anything, to think that an older person like Harold couldn't have a shower put in. I just couldn't see why at that age. There must be lots of other people who don't know where to go for help."

Council Leader John Gartside said: "I regard this as a private matter between myself and one of my dearest and most long standing friends."

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