EASTLEIGH HANDYPERSON WELCOMED BY MP HUHNE

5.31.52pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 25th Jul 2008

Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne called on elderly people in the borough to use the handyperson service to do the small jobs that builders shun.

Mr Huhne met Andy Davis, a handyperson, and 74 year old pensioner Alice Ryan from Eastleigh (both pictured here with Mr Huhne) to hear about the way the scheme can tackle anything from a loose washer in a tap to a loose floorboard.

Mrs Ryan said that she had benefited greatly from the service as a disabled person with limited mobility, as local builders were rarely interested in doing small jobs of only an hour or two.

Mr Huhne said: "The In Touch handyperson service is supported by the borough to ensure that pensioners can get a little job done at a cost of just £8 or £10 an hour. This is a really useful service that would be really popular if more people knew about it, as I hope they will".

"Another good aspect of the service is that the handyperson can check whether other work needs to be done, and get in other services if it is major. Mrs Ryan has had a new bathroom and stairlift put in, without which she would have had to move home" said Mr Huhne.

The Handyperson service is run by the Home Improvement Agency offices in West End and is part-funded by Eastleigh Borough Council and Hampshire County Council. For further information, please contact In Touch Home Improvement Agency on 023 8046 2444.