ONE of the nice things about being in the editor’s chair is that you get the chance to respond to pleas for help.

A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from Mrs Audrey Watson, of Peterlee. It was a heartfelt plea for help from a devoted mum on behalf of her son. And, knowing all too well how much my own mum worries about her sons, it struck a chord with its sincerity.

Audrey’s letter told how, in 2012, the Government shut down the Remploy factory at Spennymoor, promising that there would be jobs in mainstream employment for the disabled workers who were being made redundant.

Audrey’s 46-year-old son Graeme was one of those workers who lost their jobs. He had hardly missed a day’s work in 27 years before the factory shut but, since then, work had been impossible to find. Rejection followed rejection, leaving Graeme dispirited to the point where he barely left his bedroom.

Graeme wanted to be a fork-lift truck driver. He had an impeccable record of reliability and working hard. He had his own transport so getting to and from work wasn’t a problem. But no one was willing to give him an opportunity because of his disability.

“He is very eager and desperate to work,” wrote Audrey. “What I really want to ask is could you write something in your paper about him and hope there is a kind-hearted employer out there who will give him a chance?”

Graeme was the human face of the Remploy cuts. Three years after all the assurances about mainstream employment, his exhaustive efforts to find work had proved to be fruitless.

One of our reporters, Joanna Morris, was tasked with writing the piece about Graeme’s plight and it was published on the front page, for maximum impact, last Monday.

The result has been truly heart-warming. Today’s paper reports the very good news that Graeme has received not just one but several job offers. He has a choice of opportunities.

It is not possible to come up with an answer to every plea for help. But when a happy ending can be found, it’s especially satisfying.

Good luck, Graeme. And well done, Audrey – that’s what mums are for.