RAISING twin 17-year-old boys with cerebral palsy would be a challenge for most people, but with the help of SSAFA, chief petty officer Ian Larkin and his wife Gill have been given a helping hand on two occasions.

Twelve years ago in their previous property, Ian and Gill contacted SSAFA to help with funds to adapt the house for William and Ed, as at the time, the Government did not help with funds to adapt a house and the cost would have had to have been paid for by the family. The family approached SSAFA and the charity saved the Larkins between £30,000 and £40,000.

William is more severely affected than Ed as he has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, which affects all muscle groups in the body.

He is an electric wheelchair user and requires a high level of support. He attends Woodlands Special School in Plymouth to help with his needs.

Ed, who attends Tavistock College, has diplegic cerebral palsy, meaning he has no muscle tone in his legs but has full strength in his upper body.

SSAFA was able to help the family a second time with the purchase of a profiling bed for William. This is a hospital bed which is modern and suitable for the house and for William and is one which he can control. The charity also provided Ed with a specialist sports wheelchair.

Ian, who has been in the Royal Navy for 35 years, said: 'William just wanted to have a bedroom that looked like any ordinary teenager's. The bed has really helped with that and it does everything that we need it to do.'

Ed uses his manual wheelchair and is a member of West Country Hawks wheelchair rugby club where he shows great promise in the sport.

Ian added: 'The GB Rugby Squad has earmarked Edward for Youth Development, meaning that he could progress to Paralympic level sport with the right training.'

On Ed's new wheelchair Ian said: 'It's like an armour-plated wheelchair! It has to be made to measure to fit the person and is a vital tool for the sport.

'If he didn't have it he couldn't play so it will really make a difference to his future prospects for the sport.'

On his contact with SSAFA, Ian said: 'People shouldn't be frightened to ask for help. Help is out there and people are willing to help.

'People think there is a stigma to ask for help but there shouldn't be. We are hugely grateful, especially to Jim Merrett [the family's case worker in Devon] — he was lovely and was ex-service himself and explained the process with us at every step.

'We never could have afforded to buy the bed and specialist wheelchair on our own and they have made such a difference to the boys. William is really happy with his bed and Edward is making great progress with his rugby.'