WITH £20,000 down and no driveway in sight a Devon family were victim to a driveway disaster that cut off their disabled son’s accesses in and out of the house.

After a half-finished job, the contractor completely disappeared, leaving the evidence of his shocking visit behind. So the Parson family decided to get someone to come out and assess the problem. When Lewis Cannon – the JHB contacts manager – arrived and told the family his honest opinion about the state of the property, they broke down.

The driveway had been deemed unsafe and left in a horrendous manner.

After assessing the extent of the problem, Lewis decided to speak to his directors and see what could be done. The family were expecting him to come back with a full quoted price, but Lewis and his directors decided to offer something different.

Alongside JHB, local companies joined forces, starting what is now called, ‘The Driveway SOS’. Managing to rectify the previously unfinished project in a mere three days. Paving the way to a better future for the Parsons. They didn’t charge a penny.

Lewis said: ‘It’s not very often you have suppliers that will jump into something you suggest to them.

‘They were straight on the ball which was amazing.’

Before the driveway restoration the family had been having sleepless nights, battling against the difficulties the thoughtless contractor had created.

Their son needs the easy access for medical appointments and day centres as well as everyday living necessities. The contractor took several weeks to complete the little work he did manage to do, leaving the Parsons without a patio and driveway for quite some time.

Getting this completed was a necessity, one that the teams involved began work on with urgency. It was a team effort between the local businesses and Mrs Parson keeping the team refreshed. Everyone was involved. Despite the stress of the previous few weeks’ spirits were high, encouraged by the added joy of last weeks’ lovely sunshine.

The new driveway and patio have a HB base system to ensure the new resin bound surface has a porous and super strong foundation.

The Driveway SOS team wanted to make sure they delivered a safe and functional outdoor space to allow for a ramp to be installed.

Lewis said: ‘it’s not very often you’re able to do this for someone and to utilise some of our customer basis, they’ve all been more than happy to jump in and get involved.

‘It’s been so good to do something for someone else, expecting nothing in return.’

Lewis said the family were gobsmacked and left him with a thank you note. Ken, Maggie and Phil Parson said it’s almost impossible to describe just how much the impact of fixing the driveway and patio has meant.

‘There is still some good in the world.’

JHB wanted to say a big thank you to all the other companies involved, Civil Solutions, DTM Grab Hire, Glendennings, Addagrip Terraco and Longrake spa.