IN a bid to raise £400 for equipment to calm her autistic son Calne mum Karen Parsons has been breathing fresh life into drab old goods and selling them on.

After scouring charity shops and car boot sales Mrs Parsons, of Luckett Way, updates the items she buys and once they have been spruced up sells them on social media for a tidy profit.

So far she has raised more than £260 towards the cost of a calming light sensory pack for her 8-year-old son, Theo.

The 38-year-old said: “Theo’s condition makes him very sensitive to his environment and he can easily become agitated.

“A sensory pack would be fantastic and would have a huge impact on Theo. He has tried one before and he adored playing with the bubble tube, the LED lights and the fibre optics.

“The dark den also allowed him to escape to an enclosed space where he could relax. He immediately became less anxious around the pack which was fantastic to see.”

The equipment would usually cost £2,000 but Mrs Parsons contacted charity Caudwell Children who were willing to stump up 80% of the funding.

She added: “We were struggling to help Theo and that is when I contacted Caudwell Children.

“They provide practical and emotional support to disabled children and their families and they recommended the sensory pack.

“Unfortunately, it costs £2,000 which was way beyond our budget. However, Caudwell Children has very kindly generated 80% of the funding leaving us to find 20%, still not an inconsiderable amount.”