A rehab engineer and a therapist from a Merseyside NHS trust have used their skills to adapt a wheelchair for a Hollyoaks actor to carry her on-screen baby around in safety.

Dan Adams and Rose Tully from Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust made alterations to a wheelchair used by Hollyoaks character Courtney Campbell (played by Amy Conachan).

The project, undertaken by Dan and Rose in their own time, came about after they were approached by the Hollyoaks design team.

The popular Channel 4 soap features character Courtney, a wheelchair user and young mum. Her baby Isla was getting too big to fit in a papoose so the team needed something the baby could sit in that was forward facing – to show the character remaining as independent as possible as a wheelchair using mum.

Lynne Hatch, Clinical Lead in Mersey Care’s Community Equipment and Disability Advisory Service, said: “We were thrilled to be approached by Hollyoaks to help with this very specialist project.

“Dan and Rose gave up their own time and used their considerable expertise to consider the needs of a wheelchair user with a baby and came up with a great product that the Hollyoaks design team were delighted with.”

Lynne, together with rehab engineer Dan Adams and therapist Rose Tully were treated to a tour of the Hollyoaks set where they met actor Amy Conachan.

Amy’s character Courtney, a science teacher, arrived in the fictitious Chester village looking for missing cousin, Lockie Campbell, who viewers know was killed by his brother Cameron.

Tom Stokoe, of Lime Pictures, which produces Hollyoaks, said: “It is really nice when a community can come together to show what is possible with a lot of good will.

“Liverpool wheelchair services went out of their way to create a unique solution to our specific requests. It was really appreciated by everyone at Lime Pictures and we have been left with an amazing piece of equipment that shows all mothers with similar challenges to Courtney what can be achieved in real life with the assistance of incredible technicians like Dan.

“I would like to thank Lynne and everyone involved for their time and support.”

About Mersey Care

Mersey Care provides adult specialist mental health, addiction, learning disability and community health services in North West England and beyond. Their vision is to become the leading organisation in the provision of these services. Quality, recovery and wellbeing are at the heart of everything that they do.

They provide specialist inpatient and community mental health, learning disabilities, addiction services and acquired brain injury services for the people of Liverpool, Sefton and Kirkby, Merseyside.

They provide community physical health services in Liverpool and Sefton, secure mental health services for the North West of England, the West Midlands and Wales and specialist learning disability services across Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside. They are one of only three trusts in the country that provide these services.