CARE home residents can now enjoy new-found freedom after enough money was raised to buy a minibus.

Madley Park Care Home, in Jubilee Way, Witney, celebrated the good news with Four Weddings and a Funeral star Simon Callow.

The actor officially presented the keys of the new bus to the care home last Tuesday.

It was an extra special occasion for Ivy Hoad, who celebrated her 88th birthday the same day.

For the past 18 months, staff and residents have been fundraising for the £28,000 wheelchair-friendly vehicle.

They wanted something that residents could use for regular visits to the town centre and other days out.

Activities supervisor Frances Morgan said: “Simon Callow came on cue and he was very interesting and very interested about both the home and in how we got the money.” The care home held cream tea afternoons, coffee mornings and sponsored events, including one of the resident’s grandsons doing a sponsored skydive to bring in the cash.

The campaign was also helped by a £5,000 grant from Age UK – an organisation that combines Age Concern and Help the Aged.

Mr Callow, who is currently performing in Oxford Playhouse’s Shakespeare: The Man from Stratford, is Age UK’s official ambassador.

The bus was bought last month, but is being used for the first time this week to take residents into Witney town centre.

Mrs Morgan said: “Although we live in Witney, we are on the outskirts and we haven’t been able to go to Witney market and the new shops.

“A lot of the residents would like to go and do the normal shopping experience.

“We have always had to hire a bus, but when you do it may rain on the day.

“Now we can say ‘it’s a lovely day, let’s go shopping’.”

During the summer months, the home has weekly shopping trips and in July staff plan to take residents to Weston-Super-Mare.

Mrs Morgan added: “We usually go once a year to the seaside but now we have our own bus we can take a lot more residents.

“I am absolutely thrilled to bits, this has really opened up all of the residents’ lives.”

The care home will continue to fundraise for new wheelchairs to take the residents out in and to maintain the minibus.

Among the fundraisers planned is a summer fete on Saturday at 3pm, where there will be stalls, Punch and Judy, cream teas and a barbecue.