Leighton Buzzard coma survivor and family gifted new central heating system for Christmas

Lee Taverner, his partner Wendy Norton, and 12-year-old son, Marshall, have been living in freezing conditions, because they couldn’t afford to replace their boiler and radiators after Lee had to give up his job. The hardworking bricklayer spent three weeks in a coma during the pandemic after catching Covid-19 and developing pneumonia, which has left his lungs with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The family were at their wits’ end before the Band of Builders (BoB) charity stepped in to help at the weekend (December 7) – and the Christmas gift has been described as an "overwhelming experience".

Lee, 54, said: “Having a warm home is going to be a life-changer for my family and we cannot thank Band of Builders enough for what they have done for us."

Wendy added: “The first thing I’m going to do is to take a nice long hot bath.”

Lee Taverner laid his first brick at just 13 years old under the watchful eye of his dad, who was also a brickie.

Upon leaving school, he worked with his dad for around 30 years, continuing in the trade after his father retired.

A BoB spokesman, said: "When the global pandemic struck in 2020, Lee took the opportunity to do some work on his kitchen – only to find that his central heating boiler needed to be condemned and removed, along with the downstairs radiators, leaving the family home without heating or hot water. Around the same time, he caught Covid and was in a coma for three weeks with pneumonia.

"The 54-year-old is a fighter and he pulled through – and although he returned to work, he hasn’t been the same since and has struggled with his breathing. The housebuilder that he worked with has been good about the fact that since having Covid, he’s had to have some time off."

However, 18 months ago, Lee was finally diagnosed with COPD – a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties that include emphysema (damage to the air sacs in the lungs) and chronic bronchitis (long-term inflammation of the airways).

He is now unable to work and requires oxygen at home.

Mark Harris, area manager for project sponsors, Wolseley Group, said: “We are proud that we were able to play our part in making this project happen and helping Lee and his family this Christmas.

"Scott Oliver and his team at Luton Plumb Centre pulled out all the stops to source and deliver the products to a tight deadline so a big thank you for all their support in making a difference in our local community."

BoB is a registered charity that completes practical projects to help members of the UK construction industry and their families who are battling illness or injury.

This was BoB's 42nd project, and volunteers installed a new boiler, six new radiators, and a heated towel rail just in time for Christmas.

The volunteers were: Tracey Healy, Barry Dorrington, Andrew Pell, Kelly Taylor, Kent Taylor, and Sam Charleston.

Click here to find out more about the charity.