PARENTS are appealing to the community in the hope of turning their construction site garden into a outdoor space where they can cherish valuable time with their children.

The Thorpe Family, who live at Greenbank Gardens in Little Urswick, have had a tough time after a dispute with a builder left the garden in a mess.

The plan for the garden is to aid disabled children Samuel, six, and Bethanie,12 who suffer from a rare degenerative condition called Friedreich’s Ataxia which affects the nervous system, mobility and co-ordination.

Bethanie has to use a wheelchair and due to her heart condition, parents Jamie and Catherine have been told that her life expectancy will be between 15 and 25.

The pair also suffer from Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome, a migraine which does not cause headaches or stomach ache, but makes them vomit uncontrollably.

Over the Easter weekend in 2017 Bethanie suffered from severe vomiting and was in hospital for five days.

Since then she has been admitted a further 63 times, including two times a week at one point.

Mrs Thorpe said: “We do not know how we managed to get through the past 18 months, and looking back on the time, we were simply surviving.

“We had times when we were just working on autopilot and it had such a huge impact on all members of our family.”

Because of the severity of the condition both Bethanie and Samuel have, the couple have found it impossible to sustain full-time work.

She is a supply teacher at a school, while he works for the National Trust two days a week.

Mr Thorpe said it would 'mean the world' if the local community could support their dream of having a finished garden.

A grant of £6,000 has been given to the family to help their project, which will cost around £7,500 in total.

“We have been very lucky that Lake District Farmers Armstrong Charity have agreed to fund the project," he said.

“Russell Dodd Landscaping has provided such a competitive quote, which means that the work will hopefully be able to happen.

“We are looking for local businesses who might be able to help us with items like skips, decking and nails.

“Even if this is as small as a box of screws, anything would mean a lot.

“We are desperate to spend some family time together as we cherish every moment because their life expectancy is short.

“Any support would mean the world.”