Praise has been pouring in from residents and staff of a Bridgwater dementia care home for the creative talents of maintenance man, Waldemar Perlik, who has conjured up an impressively authentic ice-cream cart using a few old bits of furniture and MDF, and a wheel from an old wheelchair.

Waldemar – better known to residents as Wally – who has worked for Camelot Care for 13 years says he likes nothing better than to “magic up” items that will bring pleasure to the residents at Avalon and Camelot’s other care homes.

Wally said: “I enjoy making things with my hands, and I understand that sometimes the things that may bring the most pleasure to our residents can be a bit old-fashioned and not easy to get hold of.

“So creating something like the ice-cream cart from scratch, using whatever I can find, may be the only affordable solution.

“The cart took me a while to put together, but the smiles on their faces tell me it was worth all the effort.”

Activities co-ordinator, Lisa Priddice, said: “We were delighted when Wally told us what he was planning to do - what a fun and interesting way to boost health and nutrition.

“Ice-cream boosts residents’ fluid intake and helps keep them cool when the weather is warm, so when it’s sunny we shall be using this all the time.

“And when it’s not so warm, it can transport other things like popcorn and hot dogs, which I know will amuse the people we support when they’re enjoying cinema or performance activities.

“We think Wally is amazing and very talented, and he’s always going that extra mile for our residents.

“We’d all like to say a big thank-you for the love and hard work he put into producing this beautiful cart.”

Avalon Nursing Home is run by award-winning dementia care providers Camelot Care who also have homes in Wellington and Plymouth.