A BEWSEY family are among the first in the country to trial a new device which has been giving peace of mind to relatives of elderly residents.

Justine Rogers, of Bewsey Road, has described Help at Hand, from mobile phone company O2 Health, as ‘invaluable’ for people who have concerns about leaving pensioners on their own.

The 51-year-old, whose 84-year-old mum Jean has ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis and respiratory problems, said she was delighted to be one of the first to try it as the device is the first of its type on the high street.

Justine, who works full time as a personal assistant at O2, added: “I wanted to make sure my mum was safe at home and fortunately she’s very fit and active and likes to walk for the paper and hop on the bus into town.

“It gives you peace of mind to know if there’s an issue there’s somebody on the other end of the phone who will contact me or my niece.”

Jean, who has been living with her daughter for the last three and a half years, wears the device around her neck with a special detector which will raise an alert if she falls.

The mum-of-three, whose husband Ken Rogers died aged 80 in 2005, has four children and three great grandchildren and started on the business ladder as green grocers with husband of 57 years Ken before they ran a newsagents on Manchester Road.

Justine added: “My mum had falls a few years ago and hopefully that won’t happen again so when I heard about the device I jumped at the chance of trying it.

“On the days my mum is on her own it’s really nice to know it’s there and for anybody concerned it’s invaluable.”