FIFTY Bulgarian children living life in poverty are looking forward to dry housing this winter thanks to the work of Salisbury charity The Trussell Trust, with the help of a local retired builder.

Mike Hatch joined workers from the trust to repair 13 badly leaking roofs in Botevgrad Roma Community, helping to make the freezing winter much more bearable for almost 100 people.

Mike Hatch gave his time for free, the gypsy community helped provide labour and the trust co-ordinated the project and provided the materials.

When The Trussell Trust visited Botevgrad Roma Community last winter, their dilapidated dwellings were leaking so badly that they flooded, leaving residents with rooms up to a foot deep in dirty, cold water. With temperatures reaching as low as -10 degrees this made living conditions almost unbearable.

The week the roofs were completed, a torrential rainstorm hit the community and the new roofs kept 50 children dry.

The spokesman from the trust said: "We are delighted to have been able to help transform lives within this community and are so grateful to Mike Hatch for generously donating his time to make this project possible.

"It has been great working alongside the Roma community on a joint initiative and now that they have seen what is possible, residents are saving hard to try to finish the roofs of the remaining buildings themselves."