A FORMER Winchester child support worker has joined a charity which provides emotional and practical help to parents with young children.

Liz Stannard worked at Western Church of England Primary School working with children with special needs nine years ago but has recently joined Home-Start Winchester and Districts as a part-time coordinator.

Part of her new role will be to match volunteers with parents struggling with mental health issues who have children under the age of five to help them cope better with day-to-day issues.

Ms Stannard said: “I am so thrilled to be working with Home-Start. It’s a job where I feel I can make a real difference to people’s lives.”

Liz, who lives in Winchester with her husband and three children, trained as a physiotherapist and has worked in elderly care, paediatrics and adult learning disability. She left the NHS when her first son was born and, while bringing up three children, found time to become chair of St Paul’s community playgroup and church warden and trained as a breast-feeding counsellor with the National Childbirth Trust in Winchester.