VOLUNTEERS brushed up on their DIY skills to makeover a children's mental health unit.

Nine staff from Working Links employment company spent a day painting, decorating and fixing at the Terraces day unit, Mount Gould Hospital.

The team had collected £750 to fund the event, which was held through city charity Give a Child a Chance.

The cash paid for equipment and furniture for the art room and severe learning disabilities waiting room.

Lindsey Edmonds, Working Links employers solutions consultant, said: "Working Links offer their staff one day a year to donate to charity.

"As a team we decided on Give a Child a Chance and offered a room makeover.

"We raised money for materials through cake sales, mufti days, raffles and a sponsored leg wax.

"We all had a fantastic day and it turned into a bit of a team building exercise."

She said cabinets were donated by firm FHM, paint from local decorators, paint brushes and rollers by Wickes, books and toys by Matalan, pens and crayons by The Range, and a skip by Dusty Bin.

The unit provides assessment and treatment service for children aged 12 and under with a range of conditions including autism, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and psychosocial problems linked to abuse.

The service has changed over the past year - offering more outreach services - after decision by child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS), to focus more on early intervention and community-based help, such as in schools, nurseries and service users' homes.