DIY SOS orphaned boys get 'dream' home

Three orphaned brothers have had a new dream home built by hundreds of volunteers on the BBC's DIY SOS: The Big Build programme.

The boys all slept together in a single bedroom in their grandparents' home in Cornwall, after the sudden death of their mother.

Grandparents Stephen and Lynn Smedley said the transformation of their two-bed bungalow was a "dream come true".

The pair have fostered more than 100 children.

The Smedleys said they can now live a proper family life

The boys' mother Carrie died in April 2017.

The programme told the heartbreaking story of how the three children found their mother Carrie, 32, had passed away suddenly in her sleep one morning, in April 2017.

The boys, who were aged 6, 8 and 13 at the time, were taken in by their grandparents in their tiny two-bedroom retirement bungalow which Mrs Smedley described as "bursting at the seams" in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.

Dozens of keen local volunteers gave up their time to get the build finished in nine days

The programme showed the siblings squeezed into a stacked triple bunk bed and Mrs Smedley told of how her grandsons "needed the space to go through their own grieving process".

With a team of volunteers, the programme turned the bungalow into a four-bedroom home in little more than a week.

The three boys each had their own customised bedroom built

Reacting to his own new bedroom, Jaden said on the programme: "I think I'm the luckiest boy on earth, I can't believe it."

The eldest brother, Reuben, said: "I'm amazed how good it is... We can all sit at the table and have a meal together... I'm really grateful for everyone who helped."

Lynne Smedley said: "It was like walking into a show home, it was just amazing, absolutely amazing... A dream come true."