New sensory garden created at Northampton crisis house

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust hope the garden will provide a comforting environment for those who use the house.

A sensory garden to provide support to autistic people has been paid for with a £240,000 government grant.

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) created at the space at one of its crisis houses, The Warren, in Northampton.

The garden includes a range of aromatic plants.

Louise Kirby, the autism lead for Northamptonshire, said the "important" garden would benefit autistic people who have had a mental health crisis.

Crisis houses are facilities where adults who are experiencing a crisis situation can stay for a few days and get round-the-clock support, without needing to go to hospital.

Work on a new garden at The Warren in Northampton began earlier this year

Kirsty Pope, a service user at the Warren, played a role in designing the garden.

"We tried to make sure we were hitting all sensory and autistic needs throughout," she said.