WHEELCHAIR-bound youngster Jonathan Adams has been given a life-changing Christmas present in the form of a new house without steps.

The five-year-old, who has a curvature of the spine and no movement in his ankles, was having to climb up the 16 steps to his front door as there had been no council houses available for his family for a year.

The situation worsened three weeks ago when Jonathan, who used to have to walk on his tiptoes in special boots, was given a wheelchair, meaning his mum had to carry him from the car park to their home in Eaton Place, High Wycombe.

However, Wycombe District Council has now found them a suitable three-bedroomed house in Oak Wood, Flackwell Heath, and they are set to move within the week.

His mum, Elizabeth Taplin, said she and her husband Peter were delighted with their new house and it was like an early Christmas present when they heard the news.

She said it was a struggle to carry Jonathan up the stairs, along with his sister Leanna who was born last year, and then to go back to pick up the wheelchair.

She said: "We couldn't use the wheelchair as there were so many steps, you just couldn't control it.

"Now Jonathan can go wherever he wants to go.

"Jonathan is quite excited at the moment. He has been up there twice and he loves it.

"At last he can now go out in the garden and have a bit of fresh air.

"Now if he wants to get out he doesn't have to rely on me. It is a bonus.

"He will be able to have friends back from school which will be much easier."

Jonathan, who had to wear a plaster cast jacket to help straighten his spine, went to the hospital at the end of last month to have a metal frame put on both legs to try to get his heels to touch the floor.

A spokesmen for Wycombe District Council said that the property in Flackwell Heath had been checked out by the occupational therapist and it has been deemed suitable for the special needs of the family.