Swindon family’s home extension to be completed with £10,000 donation from housebuilder

The much-needed extension of Swindon family’s home is to be completed, thanks to a donation from a housebuilder.

Bellway South West, which is building new homes near Swindon, donated £10,000 to help Damien Roberts and his wife Samantha finish transforming their two-bedroom house into a five-bedroom home for them and their four children.

The couple had sold their home in order to buy a bigger house but backed out of the sale early last year when Damien’s medical diagnosis stopped them in their tracks.

The 30-year-old heating engineer, who had been suffering from severe headaches and vomiting for weeks, was taken to hospital by ambulance after he became violently ill.

A scan revealed a mass on his brain and the next day, on 23 January 2021, doctors at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford performed an emergency operation to remove a cyst the size of an apple from inside his head.

Samantha, 37, a self-employed cleaner, said: “Ten days after the operation, the doctors set up a video call and told us that Damien had a grade three anaplastic astrocytoma – a brain tumour that is incurable. We were in total shock.

“They said they had removed a cyst from Damien’s brain but now needed to take away as much of the tumour as they could in another operation. All our plans for the future were put on hold as we did not know if Damien was going to have a future. The thought of selling our house so we could buy a bigger one was forgotten.”

Surgeons at the John Ratcliffe Hospital removed the tumour on 26 February.

Damien then underwent six weeks of radiotherapy and, in July 2021, started a year-long session of chemotherapy to try to kill off all traces of the tumour and to stop it growing back.

“The doctors have told us that this treatment is the best way for Damien to try to fight this tumour,” said Samantha. “There are no guarantees about anything. We just don’t know if the tumour will come back and if it does where it will be.

“It does not bear thinking about, so we are trying to be positive about everything. There’s no way we could contemplate selling our house and taking out a mortgage, if there is a chance I might be the only one paying it.”

Damien and Samantha had bought their two-bedroom home from the local council six years ago. The house is home to them and their children Charlie, eight, Nancy, seven, Joseph, five and 23-month-old Elsie.

The couple found they were able to claim £70,000 through a critical illness insurance policy and they had £5,000 in savings.

They decided to use the money to create a two-storey extension to their house to provide more space downstairs and two extra bedrooms upstairs.

One of Samantha’s friends, Samantha Can, set up an online appeal for the couple which raised £5,000 of the estimated £90,000 extension bill.

One of her friends, Michelle Smalley, then sent out emails to businesses all over the country asking for help. Michelle, who once bought a house from Bellway, emailed the housebuilder to appeal for money to help Damien and Samantha.

Directors at Bellway South West – which is building new homes at Ridgeway Park in Wroughton, near Swindon – saw the email and decided to donate £10,000 to allow the couple to finish their extension.

Samantha said she burst into tears when Michelle called to say that Bellway had agreed to give them £10,000.

“Word cannot express how humbled we were and still are to receive such an amazingly generous donation,” she said. “It meant we got the extension finished for 17 December and were able to move out of my mum’s and back into our house in time for Christmas.

“The extra room downstairs allowed us to create a bedroom down there, so we now have five bedrooms. This family home where all the children now have their own bedroom is the best present ever.”

Damien said: “We would like to thank Bellway, and the other people who donated online, for all their help. Without Bellway we would not have been able to finish this house, which is now a proper home for our family.”

Shauna Humphreys, Head of Customer Care at Bellway South West, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that the £10,000 we donated to Damien and Samantha has enabled them to finish the extension on their house.

“They have transformed their two-bedroom house into a five-bedroom family home and we are delighted to have played a part in helping them achieve that. Their story touched our hearts and we wish the family and especially Damien all the best for the future.”

More information about Bellway’s new homes at Ridgeway Park is available at https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/south-west/ridgeway-park.