Ace athlete unveils spider room

British Paralympic hero David Weir was the guest of honour as the Freddie Farmer Foundation in Bromley opened the doors to its new Wooden Spoon-supported facility.

The six-time gold medal winner cut the ribbon to the state-of-the-art Wooden Spoon Spider Therapy Room at the Freddie Farmer Foundation Physiotherapy Centre in Bromley.

Kitted out with two Universal Exercise Units (UEUs) to help children with cerebral palsy and other mobility problems, the room was made possible in part thanks to Wooden Spoon’s Kent region which donated £25,000 to boost the three-year, £400,000 fundraising drive required to open the centre.

Karen Smith, charity officer at the Freddie Farmer Foundation, said: “It is very exciting for everyone involved with the charity to finally see the new centre open. We hope to help many more disabled children to reach their potential and to benefit from the intensive physiotherapy programmes that we run here from our new home in Bromley. I would like to say a big thank you to David Weir and Wooden Spoon for their support.”

The Wooden Spoon Spider Therapy Room gets its name from the UEUs, otherwise known as “spiders”. Using a series of elastic ropes attached to a central harness, the units create a web to support children and allow them to exercise in any position.