Struggling families offered free beds for children

A new mother who is the first to benefit from a scheme offering free beds to children under five has praised the project for "taking off the worry".

Mary, who welcomed daughter Majesty 11 weeks ago, received the first bed donation under a scheme launched by South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard.

Mr Coppard is working with Sheffield charity Baby Basics UK to offer beds to families in need in a £2.2m project running over four years.

He said: "Over time we will do more, but this was the most urgent and that’s why we stepped in with the project."

Research published by children's charity Barnardo's last year estimated nearly 900,000 children in the UK had to share a bed or sleep on the floor.

Mary, who lives in Sheffield, was the first recipient of a bed under the scheme.

She told the BBC: "For me, having a perfect place for a baby to sleep gives you confidence as a mum as it takes off the worry of ‘how am I going to have a cot for my child and where am I going to get it from?'

"It takes all that energy away from you that you could use on something else."

Mr Coppard said: "We all know... the problems facing families in some of the country’s poorest areas, like parts of South Yorkshire.

"There are families who take their babies home and struggle to feed and clothe them and give their babies everything they deserve and need.

"So we’re stepping in where we can and this is the project that most needed our support, which is the Beds for Babies scheme, which is giving babies a safe place to sleep on the very first night and over the course of five years."

Judith Stovell, a volunteer with Baby Basics UK, said the impact of bed poverty was felt far and wide.

She said: “So many people now are just struggling to put food on the table to heat their homes and then when a baby comes along, just to provide for them is one stretch too many.

“Parents don’t get a good night’s sleep, children don’t get a good night’s sleep, or if they’ve got older children and they’ve not been to sleep, then it affects their schooling, it just has so many knock-on effects.

“It just crushes people and there’s a shame attached to that that you feel you can’t provide for people.”

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.