Photographs by stroke patients go on display

Nature photographs captured by people who are recovering after suffering from a stroke have gone on display in Barnsley.

Eight patients were taught to use cameras and compose different shots to take pictures of the town's Locke Park across the four seasons.

The initiative, developed by the Creative Minds charity alongside the Barnsley Integrated Community Stroke Team and the Stroke Association charity, has gone on display at the Cooper Gallery.

Dean Carr, 58, who took part in the project, said he was proud of group's work and "got goose bumps" when he saw it on display.

Betty Eastwood, 89, whose husband John was one of the photographers who took part in the project, said they had both suffered a stroke.

She said she initially found life "very, very difficult" as she recovered.

"You're lost, you're on your own, and you don't know where you are," she said.

However, she said things changed with help from the stroke team.

"They got us to mix with people, got us to go the cafes - they got us out and about," she said.

"They did what we really wanted to do, which was go out and meet people, instead of just sitting there and becoming a cabbage."

She called being involved with the project a "wonderful experience", and added that her favourite part had been "helping one another".

Mr Carr said his family had lived near Locke Park during his childhood and it had been "brilliant" to revisit it.

He added that photography had also been one of his childhood hobbies.

"It probably started at 10 years old, my dad would get a new, better camera and I would get the older one," he said.

"Then I got a big camera for Christmas. It was awesome, and I was pretty good - not being funny or anything like that."

Kirsty Sidebottom, practitioner at Creative Minds, said the project was "not just about taking photos".

"It's been about people learning new skills, boosting confidence, meeting up, being social, and getting some exercise - we walked an awful lot of steps around the park," she said.

Gill Richmond Burns, the life after stroke co-ordinator at the stroke team, said: "When people are recovering, they lose their identity and their confidence.

"A collective project such as this has brought them all together and they've done something they've maybe never done before."

She added she was particularly proud of participant Steve Jackson, who had become blind as a result of his stroke, but had still managed to take part with the help of his wife, Lorraine.

Stroke Association co-ordinator Donna Stringer said the project represented "finding strength through support".

"It's brought people together from different areas of Barnsley and they've made new friends," she said.

After the exhibition, the photos will be put on display at the stroke recovery unit at Kendray Hospital.

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