A SENSORY room at Blackburn Youth Zone is all ready to give disabled youngsters a place to be free.

The former storeroom is now filled with stimulating lights, sounds, fabrics and even a water bed.

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The East Lancashire Masonic Charity recently donated £5,000 to the Youth Zone to create the facility.

Laura Walker, who runs the diversity club, said: “We have more than 100 members who attend the centre.

“The sensory room really was needed because we have the complete range of needs, from the mild end of Asperger’s to the more complex needs of people with PMLD (Profound Multi-Learning Disabilities).

“A lot of them have no physical movements or no verbal communication.

“In the sensory room they can feel they are freed and there’s a stimulation of the senses.

“It’s also a place for time out – somewhere to chill out.

“They can communicate with their bodies and eye contact.

“They can lie on the water bed and play with the bubbles and the light-up toys or with the glow-in-the-dark maracas and the vibrating shapes.

“It gives them a sense of interaction and security.”

Julia Wright, from the Youth Zone said: “It wasn’t a space we were making the most of and Laura was the driving force.

“She pushed for a stimulating space for young people to go.

“We have around 50 members with disabilities of different sorts.

“This space is going to be really well used.

“We have really made the most of it.”

The space now includes special light projectors, bubble tubes, the water bed, a bubble machine, vibrating cushions and lots of things to touch, squeeze and hold.

Laura added: “We are really pleased with how the room has turned out and it will be used by lots of or members.

“I’d like to thank the East Lancashire Masonic Charity for their donation which made the room possible, plus Blackburn Carpets, Oakdale Electrical Contractors and Graham and Brown who all contributed to the finished room.

“We really appreciate it.”

The next stage will be the creation of a small outdoor sensory garden, courtesy of Eric Wright construction – the company behind the Cathedral Quarter development.