A MELKSHAM toddler is now able to sleep safely at night thanks to a life-changing donation from the town’s Lions Club.

Melksham Lions stepped in to help when they heard local mum, Samantha Mosley needed a safe space bed to enable her two-year-old son Laani to sleep safely at night.

The club’s president, Jim Whyborn, said: “When people are desperate we can normally do things pretty quickly.

“Samantha Mosley and her son Laani were referred to us by a home visitor from Wiltshire Portage service.

“We were made aware of the situation and arranged for our own welfare representatives to visit Sam and her family.

“We quickly recognised the need for Laani to have a safe space bed and mattress due to his urgent medical requirements.

“Fortunately, we had a meeting the same evening and it was agreed to finance the bed and mattress in full.

“The following day the suppliers, Safe Play Creation, were contacted, the bed and mattress ordered, and Wiltshire Portage service and Sam notified of our decision.”

The 13-member club paid £670 for a safe bed for Laani, who has medical conditions including obstructive sleep apnea, that mean he has to be continually monitored throughout the night.

Mrs Mosley, 36, of Milton Avenue, Melksham, had been sleeping with Laani at night to make sure he continued to breathe but this left her struggling with tiredness.

Mrs Mosley said: “Laani has obstructive sleep apnea and other medical conditions which means that he has difficulty breathing and eating.

"Overnight had started to become really difficult, especially over the last six months. He has to be hooked up to a machine at night to ensure he keeps breathing.

“This meant that I was continually up all night making sure that he was okay."

Her Wiltshire Portage visitor, Shelley Peters, saw that Mrs Mosley was struggling and contacted local charities to ask for help.

Melksham Lions offered to pay for a bespoke bed for Laani allowing him to sleep safely at night whilst giving his mum and dad Alistair, 35, peace of mind.

Mrs Mosley, who has eight children, added: “I just want to say a huge thank you to Melksham Lions who have given Laani a safe place to sleep. He needs to be close to me at night but a single bed was too big to fit into my room.”

“With the help of the donation, we were able to have a bespoke-sized bed made for Laani to fit in my bedroom.

“It’s soft and padded so I know he will be safe and also has pockets and holes for all of the wires from the machines. It is going to be absolutely amazing to have this now and Laani loves it.”