DINNERTIME is no longer a struggle for a 64-year-old arthritis sufferer thanks to a housing association and her local council.

Mary Cartwright, of Norton, has lived in the same house for 18 years, but rheumatoid arthritis meant she struggled to make even the most basic meal in her old kitchen.

But Endeavour Housing Association and Stockton Borough Council stepped in and transformed her old car port into a kitchen.

Now revelling in her new-found independence, she is also enjoying a revamped bathroom that includes a sit-in shower with blow-drying facilities. With her worsening condition, her kitchen and bathroom had become virtually no-go areas, but the changes have transformed her life dramatically.

Mrs Cartwright said: "Thrilled does not really sum up how I feel - I think ecstatic would be a better description.

"I was finding more and more that everyday tasks that most people take for granted were becoming impossible for me.

"I love cooking, but because of my disability my old kitchen was totally wrong for my needs."

"My new kitchen is a dream in that now everything is accessible."

Endeavour Housing Association, which serves 1,300 people across the Tees Valley and County Durham, teamed up with the council's social services department to pay for the transformation.

Charlie Hughes, Endeavour's director, said: "Mary's plight was becoming desperate, and it was evident that unless urgent adaptations were carried out, her independence was threatened.

"She had to wait a long time before the resources became available, but we are delighted that she can now enjoy a new lease of life."