Son to finally return home after ‘unbelievable’ DIY SOS rebuild

The family of a disabled teenager who can finally leave hospital after his home in Lancashire was transformed by the BBC’s DIY SOS team has said the end result was “unbelievable”.

Daniel Flemen has been living in hospital in Manchester for nearly three years after a life-saving operation to remove a brain tumour left him severely disabled.

After eight days of working, the house in Freckleton has been renovated by the team at DIY SOS, who will feature the 16-year-old’s story in full in a programme in 2026.

“It’s an emotional day for everyone,” his uncle Mark Rigby said, after hundreds of tradespeople, suppliers and volunteers worked on the family home in Lancashire.

He said the bungalow is “100% changed, it’s like night and day” and “now it’s totally functional for Daniel to come home”.

Speaking just before the finished project was unveiled, he said there will be “a lot of tears”.

Mr Rigby said: “Every single room’s been affected with everyone working until four o’clock in the morning.

“It’s unbelievable what’s happened.”

The DIY SOS team said a record number of people turned up to work on the first day of the rebuild eight days ago.

Interior designer, Gaby Blackman, said: “It was an impossible job, it wasn’t really achievable on paper, and they’ve done it.

“Daniel is coming home all because of these guys and their talent, hard work and commitment, I’m so proud of everyone.

“What a week and what absolute heroes, every single one of them.”

Paul Taylor, from Burnley, has been camping overnight to work on the house.

“I’ve been fine in a caravan,” he said, “but there’s other blokes in tents who’ve not been so good, with soggy boots and socks at the end of the tent.”

He said he has done “loads of lifting and shifting” so that “whatever the trades have needed, we’ve brought to them and whatever they didn’t need, we’ve taken away”.

Bricklayer Ian McDonald travelled down to help from Lytham St Annes, and said he got involved because “it’s nice to give something back”.

“A lot of people have put a lot of work in behind the scenes that you don’t see, like lads on diggers putting in footings, or teams of people just forming lines and passing stuff, it’s been great.”

As the project ended he said he was feeling “emotional and proud”.

“Having your family all together is a massive thing,” he said.