THERE was hardly a dry eye around as the DIY SOS team unveiled an amazing new building created to help children with cancer and their families.
For this year's Children in Need special, Nick Knowles and his team visited Northwich-based charity The Joshua Tree, themselves in need of more space to support more families.
And in the space of just 12 days, the DIY SOS crew - supplemented by an army of volunteers from across all trades - erected a stunning new building, essentially doubling the size of the charity's centre.
The new building includes two self-contained family suites with kitchenettes and bathrooms, a family room, two new counselling rooms, a large playroom, two new treatment rooms, and a big gym.
Speaking on the programme, which aired on Thursday (November 13) on BBC One, the charity's head of family support Danielle Percival said: "This is everything we need for our families, they deserve all of this. You can feel the care, the love, the empathy, all the way through."
Addressing the assembled crew of volunteers after the handover, an emotional Danielle added: "Our ambition as a charity is to reach all of these families that have a child cancer diagnosis.
"In order to do that we needed to be able to keep them safe, give more opportunity to spend time together, and to stay over if the journey was too far away.
"This is truly special. This is more than just a building.
"You've built a bigger, better community for all of these people and more, so from my heart, I thank you for absolutely everything."
During the show, viewers were introduced to some of the brave children and families benefitting from the centre, such as Ollie, 12 - who came up with the idea for the 'Hero Wall', Alice and her family - who have been using the charity for two-and-a-half years, and Jaxon - who helped share The Joshua Tree's story on the BBC's Morning Live show.
Summing up what he described as 'the single biggest building DIY SOS has ever attempted, presenter Nick said: "Twelve weeks ago, we found a charity doing all it could to help children and their families going through the hardest times of their lives, but only local people from the area could benefit from the centre and it was bursting at the seams.
"A vital gym was outdoors so could only be used in good weather and a lack of overnight accommodation meant they were turning people away.
"The only was to help more families was to literally double the size of their centre and we've done exactly that.
"This new building ties in seamlessly with the old. Inside we've created counselling rooms to give staff and families greater privacy.
"There's a huge playroom for younger children with everything from arts and crafts to imaginative play.
"The space flows into the new garden, packed with fun but also quiet spaces to reflect and have time alone.
"Upstairs are two new spa-inspired treatment rooms designed to alleviate any stresses and strains.
"There's an indoor gym where children and parents always have a place to keep fit and, crucially, two accommodation suites now give far-flung families a place to stay with full access to everything this wonderful centre has to offer.
"This new centre was only made possible because of the amazing community of volunteers and suppliers giving so generously."
After seeing the new building one parent said: "We're never going to be able to get the kids home."
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