Ponies prove to be stars of the show at supermarket promotion

PHOTOS BY PAUL KING

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When he was born, he had a large section of his bowel missing and needed a ninehour operation at the John Radcliff Hospital.

His dad added: “It was one thing after another. His kneecaps came out of their sockets, so he had another operation at Reading but from the age of seven he needed a wheelchair.”

Scott, who turns 25 this month, went to a mainstream infant and junior school before moving to Addington in Woodley. And he has just finished at Reading College where he has been learning life skills. He would love a job, but he needs to build his confidence.

“He can sign and lip read and he can say a few words. He lacks confidence but he gets a bit better when he’s had a beer!”

Although Scott’s mum Sharon and his dad are no longer together, they have an excellent relationship and work together to look after Scott. Darren lives in Binfield and has him on a Tuesday and at the weekends while his mum lives in Wargrave.

They have support with Scott attending Optalis in Woodley and Lower Earley on a Wednesday, Thursday and Fri-

Shoppers filling their trollies at Waitrose in Wokingham were surprised to see some ponies outside.

The team from SAFE (Saving Abandoned Fly-grazing Equines) were on hand to help raise funds for the charity and also promote the work that they do.

The stars of the show were ponies five-month-old Zucca and six-year-old Seguro as they donned reindeer antlers and got into the Christmas spirit.

SAFE founder Alison Stratford thanked Waitrose for their continued support. “One of our volunteers is a Waitrose partner so we have a nice day. The only issue for them is where they live – in a flat above a chip shop which has access difficulties. Darren used to live in the Wokingham Borough but when he split from his partner during Covid, he was forced to take temporary accommodation in Binfield.

He said: “When I went to the council to try and get put on the housing list, they said they couldn’t help as I was now in Bracknell. They did provide a stair climber but it wasn’t suitable for the property. I have to leave Scott’s wheelchair in the car and carry him across the car park to the flat. In January I took a fall with him and damaged my knee. A ground floor flat or bungalow would be a godsend for both of us.”

Darren, who is a car painter, is even looking for an evening job just to be able to provide ground floor accommodation for his son.

He added: “We love caring for Scott and wouldn’t have it any other way. He has a wide circle of friends – he literally makes friends wherever he goes.” relationship with the store. They very generously provide us with raffle prizes for our family fun day in the summer. But it is events like this which really get the message across about the work that we do.”

This year he is spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day morning with his dad, before spending Christmas night with his mum and meeting up with his siblings, two brothers and a sister on Boxing Day.

She added that often shoppers are surprised and delighted to come across the ponies. “We got a really good response on what was a very cold day. We had a stall just outside the entrance and also had a tombola.” The event raised just over £700 for the Wokingham-based charity.

Zucca is one of their newest arrivals and Alison described him as ‘quite a poorly boy’ with back legs that lock up. He regularly had to be taken for a walk around Peach Place but she added that he was getting better all the time.

SAFE is a small registered charity whose mission is to support local landowners to legally rescue and re-home abandoned and neglected horses in the Berkshire and Surrey areas. If you would like to volunteer, find them on Facebook or visit www.safe-horses. co.uk