WORK on the DIY SOS Big Build Children in Need Special has begun in Blackburn – and presenter Nick Knowles and interior designer Gabrielle Blackman were down at the Preston New Road site, getting stuck into the project.

The team, which includes electrician Billy Byrne and build manager Mark Millar, along with volunteers from the community, are working with charity, Nightsafe, to convert a rundown church hall at St Silas’s Church into accommodation for vulnerable children.

Mark Millar, build manager for DIY SOS, said: “It’s important to us to do this because these are vulnerable young people who need support and guidance.

“We want to provide a place for them to be safe, and when they’re 18 they will be moved into permanent accommodation.

“We still need people of all trades including carpeting and joiners to help with the build.

“This is a job for anyone that wants to help these young people and make a difference.”

The site was buzzing with volunteers early on Tuesday morning, with people from all across Blackburn turning up to lend a hand.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Nick Knowles, who fronts the BBC show, said that despite a great first-day turnout, the team was still desperately in need of volunteers to ensure they can complete the work on time.

He said: “We need a really big response. We haven’t quite had as many people as we want and we now desperately need, over the next two days, carpenters and general builders.

“If you’re a builder or a chippy and you’re working on a site and you can suspend it for a day, please come and join in over the next two or three days.

“Then we need plaster-boarders and plasterers later on in the week, so if you can come and join in with us or give us a couple of hours after work we would really appreciate it.

READ > DIY SOS in Blackburn ­— It's a big job and they need your help

Lancashire Telegraph:

“If you are a developer in the area and you’ve got a build on at the moment, have a think about your own children and their situation and how you look after them – we’re trying to build for those kids that actually don’t have that support network.

“Could you suspend your build for a day or half a day and send your team over and join with us? We are genuinely desperate for help.

“We need about 30 of all of those trades to come and turn up.”

Lancashire Telegraph:

Mr Knowles, who has fronted DIY SOS since 1999, said doing these sort of builds for Children in Need was ‘huge’, as across the country there are more than 600,000 young people who are supported by the charity.

He added: “There are a huge number of projects across Lancashire looking after young people as well, that Children in Need supports, and Children in Need will continue to support Nightsafe so that they can continue to do the amazing work that they do.

“We have this problem in this country where there’s over 100,000 young people in this situation and we’re not doing enough.

“We can’t feature these people in our programme but we still think we should be building for them because otherwise it becomes a hidden thing and it’s not right that our most vulnerable youngsters end up in difficulty again.

“This charity will make a massive difference here.

“And in the process of doing this we are saying to all those young people, we care, you do matter to us and we can make a difference.”

The Big Build in Blackburn will run until Thursday September 12, but show organisers and the team of DIY experts are still looking for people to offer their skills to enable to project to be finished on time.

* For those wanting to help transform the church site, email diysosblackburn@bbc.co.uk