A £1,000 donation from Harrison Clark Rickerbys’ charitable trust will help local charity Headway Worcester to refurbish their kitchen so that those who have suffered brain injuries can re-learn life skills for their future.

The work, which will cost a total of £10,000, involves knocking down a wall and refitting the kitchen with stainless movable benches, new convection ovens (to replace the current broken cooker) and rings on two levels. One set of rings will be for wheelchair users and there will also be a higher working surface, a new fridge, new sinks and proper commercial flooring.

Dawn Oliver, who presented the donation, said: “Headway is a superb charity – it provides support to people who have suffered all manner of problems, like strokes, accidents or illnesses, which have changed their lives; we are very happy to be able to support them in their work.”

Mandie Fitzgerald, Headway’s fundraising manager, said: “I’m really delighted with this donation; £1,000 is a considerable amount of money and will be a great help. We’ve now got £4,000 to find, which we’re going all out to do. Only two people could get into our old kitchen at any time and the cooker was broken, so we really couldn’t use it properly at all.

“Once the work is done at the end of February, we can offer people with brain injuries from all over Worcestershire the kind of life skills they’ll need to live independently, and that’s always our aim.”

The charity is also hoping to spruce up its lounge area, and is appealed for any unwanted armchairs or dining chairs with arms. Mandie said: “Our users need the kind of chairs which people often buy for elderly relatives – with arms and high backs – because a brain injury often leaves people with mobility problems. It would be great if anyone could donate that kind of chair – we can then really smarten the area up and make it easy to use.”

Harrison Clark Rickerbys has 450 staff and partners based at offices in Worcester, Cheltenham, Birmingham, Hereford, the Wye Valley, the Thames Valley and central London, who provide a complete spectrum of legal services to both business and private clients, regionally and nationwide.  The firm also has a number of highly successful teams specialising in individual market sectors, including health and social care, education, advanced manufacturing, agricultural and rural affairs, defence, security and the forces, and construction.