BALFOUR Beatty staff organised a community volunteer day in aid of Watchtree nature reserve last week.

39 members of staff from a variety of organisations joined forces with Watchtree volunteers to take on several projects, including painting fences and making the paths more accessible in a ‘DIY SOS’ style day.

The event was extremely poignant as organiser Grant Taylor, 22, sadly passed away earlier in the year.

John Turner, network manager for Balfour Beatty, said: "We have all been affected by the loss of Grant – as shown by the amount of support here today. The aim of the day was to ‘work hard, have fun’, which was Grant’s philosophy. He will be a difficult act to follow."

The project had been designed with sufferers of dementia in mind as Grant’s grandfather visited the reserve often as he coped with the condition.

“Grant’s grandfather would visit Watchtree on their weekly ‘Walking for Health’ walks," said Grant’s mother Tracey.

"As a dementia patient he found the smooth paths of the reserve easier to walk on as his condition worsened."

It is hoped that the event at Watchtree will become an annual event around August 7, to commemorate the day Grant joined the Balfour Beatty workforce and enable the work carried out to be maintained.