Actress backs dementia charity's days out scheme

Actress Sian Reeves supports Dementia Adventure's Green Letter Days, which get carers and people with dementia outside

An actress whose aunt has dementia has lent her support to a charity offering days out for people with the condition and their carers.

Dementia Adventure's Green Letter Days are designed to get people with the syndrome outside, to help them live more active lives.

West Bromwich-born Sian Reeves, known for Emmerdale and noughties drama series Cutting It said she had observed that when living with the condition, "your world becomes so much smaller".

The charity's CEO Fiona Petit said the experiences, which range from walking cricket to flower arranging, were "an alternative to traditional respite".

Reeves, who grew up in Staffordshire, said: "My aunt has got vascular dementia and she is dealing alright with it - actually, it's my uncle the carer who is struggling hugely and it's a lot to do with trying to get her to eat something.

"She was a businesswoman who had her own company and he's had to take all her cards away."

She said the charity's Green Letter Days, which are free or subsidised, used volunteers to help carers and family members, meaning they were like "you've got your mate there" to lend a hand.

"Obviously you get worried about leaving the house. Your world becomes smaller... your carer's world becomes smaller. And financially everything becomes smaller, so we're offering this wonderful day."

Ms Petit said: "We know the outdoors can be so good for brain health, in terms of helping sleep and diet, appetite and lifting the mood and improving those communication skills.

"I think it just shows them and particularly the day-to-day caregiver what's possible. This is showing what you can do, not what you can't, and that really inspires them."