Father forced to carry disabled son up to first floor flat in Widnes to move into new adapted home

ITV News

19-05-2025

A father who was forced to carry his disabled son up a flight of stairs to their first floor flat is to move into a new adapted home.
Stephen Murray was living with four sons in his one bedroom flat where they are all had to sleep in the same room.
After his story was featured on ITV Granada Reports, the family were moved into hotel accommodation and told there was a property they could move into that is being adapted to their needs.
It is a four-bedroomed house and assessments will be carried out on whether seven-year-old Harry, who has cerebral palsy, will be able to use the stairlift to access a wet room or if an adapted lift will be needed.
Stephen said he had been "despairing" living in the cramped flat in Widnes, Cheshire, and worried about how long he would be able to carry Harry upstairs.
"Within 24 hours our situation had changed", Stephen said. "We were moved to a hotel and told the property we had wanted, was going to be ours and was being adapted.
"It is close to the children's school and we can start moving forwards with our lives'.
A Halton Housing spokesperson said: "Since the change in Mr Murray's circumstances we have continued to work tirelessly alongside other agencies to find an alternative home for Mr Murray and his family.
"We are pleased to confirm that a suitable property has now been identified and is currently being adapted to meet this family's specific needs.
"We anticipate that Mr Murray and his family will be able to move into their new home this week and we will continue to support them in any way we can."
For seven months, Mr Murray had been searching every night on the Housing Association's property pool.
Speaking last week, Stephen said he'd felt like was getting no support, adding: "I had to take my children away from the situation they were in to give them a better life, but I feel like they've gone backwards.
"They're frozen in time because there's so much they should be getting but they're not. There's no light at the end of the tunnel, it's just getting dimmer and dimmer."
Stephen was concerned his son's health was being affected by the limited space and not being able to use his son's specialist wheelchair, leg braces and upright stand in the flat.
Most people with cerebral palsy have mobility issues, but regular exercise and play are crucial for maintaining and improving their physical strength.
Stephen said: "The physio said it's getting worse and it could get to a point where he won't be able to stretch his legs out.
"He gets in the bath, but he's bruising his legs. With a wet room he'd be in his wheelchair and have a proper shower. It'd be so much easier."