RESIDENTS, relatives and staff brought all the fun of the seaside to a Darlington care home recently.

Seaside scenes were created at the Willow Green residential home in a bid to support a national campaign.

Residents at the Eastbourne Road home ate ice-cream, made sand-castles and played seaside games to mark their efforts to combat depression.

The day was one of many events organised by the home’s activities organiser, Nicola Laycock and was staged to mark Depression Awareness Week, a national scheme run by the charity Depression Alliance until Sunday (April 26).

Miss Laycock, 32, said: “We’re trying to bring back childhood memories with the sand and the ice-cream.

"It helps with their reminiscences but it also boosts their mood.

“It’s good for staff morale as well because it’s doing something happy and it’s about everyone being aware of depression and how easy it is to slip into it.”

Manager, Richard Maddison, 46, said: “We’re getting people to re-live their youth and the way they used to do things rather than thinking that now they’re in a care home they should stop.

“We’re making sure they enhance their lives.”