Why couple moved 300 miles to 'wonderful' Hartlepool for accessible new home

Mike Nevin, 61, made the move with his wife Mary after looking for a suitable property for over two and a half years.

The former product manager has syringomyelia – a degenerative neurological condition – which has left him unable to walk.

It has also meant the Victorian terraced property in Taunton, in Somerset, where the couple, lived became unsuitable for Mike’s increasing needs.

The father-of-three has described being able to live only in the lounge of his Somerset home as he was struggling to pass through the narrow corridors and doorways of the house, damaging his wheelchair whenever he had to leave the property.

It left him “pretty desperate to move”..

Mike, who is originally from London, has said he and his wife had to move up north as it was the only way to find an accessible home, which was also within their budget.

“There’s definitely a lack of properties that are suitable,” he said.

"We looked in the Nottingham area, we looked upwards. We weren’t looking at new properties initially, we were looking at existing ones and we were struggling to find any properties that were accessible.”

He added: "There’s not enough affordable accessible housing and people are forced to move from where they currently live. That’s why we had to move further north.”

Fond memories of Hartlepool also played their part – the couple lived in the town for five years between 2005 and 2010 and decided to go somewhere they “love”.

Despite missing their Somerset friends, Mike and Mary are enjoying life in their new four-bedroom detached house, which was further adapted to meet Mike’s needs.

The Headland home comes with beautiful views of the sea, which Mike can enjoy while writing his blog How Caring.

"Having actually a bedroom to sleep in rather than sleeping in a lounge and having a wet room rather than be washed in your bed, it’s difficult to describe what that is like,” he said.

"If you’ve been washed in your bed for two and a half years and slept in a lounge where everybody walked by and you’ve got no privacy and no sense of this is my bedroom, and suddenly you have your own bedroom, it’s indescribable. It’s so amazing.

"The difference, I couldn’t get my head round it when I first came here and the freedom of this space.”

Mike added: “It’s life-changing.”

The couple’s second experience of Hartlepool has been once again “wonderful”, with Mike praising the local community for their kindness, especially following Storm Arwen last November.

"The people on this estate have been the most welcoming, the most incredible people that I have experienced in any place that we’ve lived.”

Mike, who does not leave the house much because of his condition, added: "Our experience of Hartlepool is that it’s wonderful. I just wish I could see more of it this time around.”