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Beating the freeze

11 January 2010

Colleagues at Dimensions pulled out all the stops to ensure round-the-clock services continued during the winter storms.

As snow and extreme icy weather gripped the nation, teams across England and Wales kept vital support services running. While public transport came to a standstill, the teams refused to be beaten.

Instead some walked several miles a day in the harsh weather conditions to get to work, others gave up their time off to provide cover and some even slept on office floors on make-shift beds.

David Wolverson, Chief Executive of Dimensions, said: "We've been truly inspired by the many stories we've heard. The severe weather has brought out the best in our people. Many people have gone way beyond the call of duty and it has been very humbling to hear the extent some people have gone to to ensure our services were maintained."

In Wakefield, support worker Tony Hopkinson took to his bike when snow made roads impassable by car and both the bus and train services stopped running. A 28-mile cycle ride in snow failed to prevent Tony from getting to work. Showing true dedication, he cycled from Wakefield to Brighouse in sub-zero temperatures to ensure he was able to provide the support needed.

Meanwhile, in Berkshire Jake Coombes showed true grit by walking four hours each way in snow to get to work and back! Jake, who lives on a hill, wasn't able to get his car out of the drive let alone to work but refused to be beaten. So each day he walked from one side of Reading to Finchamstead, which meant on some days leaving at 3.30 in the morning!

In the south west, support worker, Dan Meadows, travelled all the way from his home in Torquay to provide support in Bath. He made it all the way up to Bath and promptly got snowed in! And as the weather got worse and colleagues found it difficult to travel, he volunteered to help out further by covering four sleep-ins in a row.

In the Sheffield region there were several inspiring stories of 'snow heroes'. These included Holly Kitson, who stayed the night in the office as she feared there wouldn't be enough staff to cover the following day. Colleague, Humayoon Khan, worked a double shift and walked back into work the following day when the bus services stopped. Christine Cooper, meanwhile, trudged an eight mile round trip in deep snow to make sure she got to work.