A HUGE project to transform the lives of a young Monmouth family has begun, with volunteers travelling from across Wales to show their support.

Aided by more than 100 volunteers and business owners, the team from BBC One show DIY SOS: The Big Build has started the renovation of the home of Charlotte Fairlie and her family.

The build, which is the biggest of its kind that the show has attempted, will add a two storey rear extension to the family’s two bedroom house on Old Hereford Road. The extension will incorporate a dedicated physiotherapy room and en-suite wet room for Charlotte and an extra bedroom for a live-in carer.

On Tuesday (5th April), builders, carpenters and labourers showed up in force to help the team and show their support for Charlotte, Rob (40) and their twin boys Fox and Teddy who are staying with family nearby.

Rob, met with applause from the crowd said: “It’s been over a year now and we still haven’t been able to be a family in the house, it’s been a mess.

“Hopefully this will give us the chance to be a family again. I want to say thank you to you all so much.”

The extension, which has been intentionally designed to challenge Charlotte, maintains the properties staircase with bannisters on both sides.

A number of businesses from the nearby area and further afield came to show their support. The DIY SOS team, which has been helping families since 1999, is small and relies on the help and generosity of volunteers to complete their ambitious projects.

Simon Jones, Brandon Jones and Guy Oakes were all on site on Tuesday morning to help. Simon said: “I’m a local carpenter and just wanted to help out.

“We’ve all been a bit apprehensive at first but it’ll be a really good experience. We’re looking forward to seeing the finished house now.”

Jeremy Jones from JC Carpets was also there to support the team: “I’m here today on my day off to help, and I’ll be back later in the week to help with laying the carpets.

Cheryl Cummings designed the garden, which features a double-width staircase with a bannister to help Charlotte recuperate, and described the “unusual” experience of designing a garden without having seen the area. “It’s a bit back to front, and quite difficult.

“It’s for a great cause.”

In addition to tradespeople from Monmouth, volunteers travelled from Barry, Pontypridd and Ross-on-Wye to lend a spare pair of hands to the build.

Charlotte and Rob had been married for two years and were eagerly anticipating the birth of their twin boys in December 2014 when, during the pregnancy, Charlotte developed pre-eclampsia. Although she was monitored throughout the pregnancy, Charlotte suffered a serious stroke sending her into a coma minutes after giving birth.

Despite being given a one per cent chance of survival, Charlotte pulled through, but the stroke caused brain damage, partial paralysis and loss of speech.

After dedicating her career to nursery childcare and longing to have children of her own, Charlotte has now lost all memory of ever being pregnant and giving birth to her sons.

Hamish Summer, series producer said: “The build has been designed with occupational therapists- it’s about the family having a better life, not just giving them a new extension.

“It’s been such a big build that we’ve had to do the groundwork for the extension. We’ve had incredible support from local companies and 100 local volunteers who have all come to be part of the project.”

While the build is ongoing, nearby Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls is providing catering for the crew.

“We start today and will be finished next Thursday morning,” Hamish continued. We’ll work until 2am if we have to. There was a recent build where we worked through the night to get everything done.”

Anyone interested in providing help should contact [email protected]