Eastbourne landscapers help mum and disabled son during lockdown

Single mum Leanna Forse had been struggling with her son Billy, 19, who has a rare chromosomal disorder.

She said, “Like everyone else, we can’t really go anywhere at the moment and Billy doesn’t understand.

“Not having his usual routine and not being able to get outside was really affecting his behaviour and he wasn’t sleeping at all. I was also attempting to work from home at the time too so it became quite difficult.”

Leanna, who works at the Chamber of Commerce, described her garden as a ‘ridiculous wilderness’ that had got out of hand and she was unable to get Billy’s wheelchair into.

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She mentioned her problem to her colleague Shoes Simes, who then in turn asked John Hessey at Southern Land Services to help out.

The next morning, Leanna got a call asking her to open the gate. The team cleared the garden and refused payment from Leanna.

She said, “It’s made a huge difference! Now I can take Billy outside, it’s really helped both of us. Even a small change of scenery can create a positive change of mood.

“Everyone is going through this and lots of people are struggling so it’s lovely to see so many amazing acts of kindness.

“Southern Land Services, Shoes, John, Steve and Malcolm really helped to turn things around and I am so, so thankful to them.”

John Hessey, who is director at Southen Land Services, explained why they decided to help.

He said, “I sent a couple of our lads, Steve and Malcolm, down and they got it done. We are still able to work at the moment, we observe social distancing regulations. We didn’t want to charge because it didn’t seem right.

“The lady was really happy. It must be challenging for her at the best of times but to be cooped up and not able to use the garden must be so frustrating.

“We were happy to do it. Hopefully it made her life better in lockdown.”

John, who started the Eastbourne business with a friend 20 years ago, said, “It’s all about coming together at the moment.

“If you can do something quite easily that can seem quite a challenge for people without tools and experience, why not?”

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Now Southern Land Services covers the whole of the south east and are currently working on contracts for the NHS.

John said, “Our clients are saying it’s really vital communal gardens are kept up. It can be disheartening if everything’s neglected.

“What people look out their windows at is really important now more than ever really.”