A CARPENTER from Sully has used his skills to help change the lives of a young family.

Guy Oakes recently pitched in for the popular TV programme DIY SOS.

The owner of Oakes Carpentry, he joined other local tradesmen and women who answered a call to help a family in Monmouth.

The idea of the show, which started in 1999, is to get volunteers to team up to transform a house for the good of its residents.

The Sully resident first found out that the show was coming to Wales on social media.

The project set out help the family of Charlotte Fairlie who survived a stroke against all the odds, after giving birth to twins.

The show set out to renovate her house to cater for her needs, by adding an extension to the property with specialised facilities.

Mr Oakes made an inquiry and within a couple of weeks he received an email telling him what the schedule was.

He was one of at least 100 people working on the house in Monmouthshire when he arrived.

He was there for five of the 12 days of the project, including the day it was handed back over to the family, and called it an "amazing experience."

Mr Oakes said: "I first found out about in online and having watched the show I thought this would be really good to take part in and experience.

"It's hard to explain. The high of helping someone in this way was amazing."

The show’s presenter Nick Knowles addressed the crowd of volunteers before revealing the house to the couple, who were visibly moved by the support shown.

Mr Oakes added: "I would do it again tomorrow and fully recommend people get involved with this if they can."

The episode is due to be screened on BBC later this year.