A LUXURIOUS care home being built in the region is bringing back the butler.

Swift Healthcare, the owner of the £5m Reuben Manor Care Home, is recruiting 100 staff, including a butler.

It claims that when it is opened in July, the home will be one of the best appointed in the North.

The 82-bed centre, which will specialise in providing accommodation for people with dementia, will have a range of unusual features, such as a baby grand piano, a onearmed bandit and a jukebox, aimed at the different age groups of residents.

But perhaps the most novel aspect of the new home will be its in-house butler.

Julie Peyton, who will manage Reuben Manor when it opens in June, said: “We wanted somebody who would be able to interact with the residents, somebody who could bring them a cup of tea or escort them to the hair salon.”

Mrs Peyton said the butler would provide an enhanced level of personal service for residents, while allowing other care staff to carry on with their duties.

Built on the site of two former Victorian houses, the three-storey building will be set in 1.2 acres close to Yarm High Street, with wings of 15 beds each.

Each suite of rooms will have its own lounge, dining area and kitchenette.

Because many of the elderly residents may not be well enough to leave, the home will include a coffee shop, gift shop, internet cafe and hair salon.

Patients suffering from dementia will be able to visit different areas designed to stimulate memories of the past.

The home will also feature a colour scheme designed to help residents with dementia find their way around the building.

Owner Angela Swift, who grew up in Stockton but now lives in Leeds, named the care home after her late father, Reuben.