CARING cleaners spent a weekend giving an elderly woman’s home a ‘complete makeover’ in a spontaneous act of kindness.

Tara Sutton, who runs Outstanding Cleaning Dedication (OCD) from her home in Leafield, near Witney, was joined by almost 20 volunteers in carrying out the ‘big SOS clean’.

They completely remodelled the house of the 87-year-old, who has no family of her own and had been unable to keep the property in good condition.

But over two days last month, the team removed everything except the bed to clean, fix and re-decorate the building.

The finished product was a world away from the home’s previous state and Miss Sutton revealed the resident could not contain her gratitude at the good-natured act.

She said: “The lady was over the moon.

“She was saying how she couldn’t believe there were nice people out there.

“We didn’t see ourselves as angels falling from the sky, we saw someone who needed help.

“She’s a forgotten generation and it shouldn’t be like that - we can’t just leave them to fend for themselves.”

Miss Sutton was approached by Witney-based Cottsway Housing Association, after they had visited the homeowner.

She originally called on the property alone, but realised it would need a special effort to get it up to scratch.

The bathroom carpets were stained with mould, while some food in the cupboard went out of date in 1999.

OCD’s owner told friends of her predicament and she was pleasantly surprised when they volunteered to help.

People from far and wide offered their services to the big clean, including old college friends like Amy Arnold, who travelled from the other side of Gloucester.

Even businesses got in on the act, with Ideal Carpets, based in Newent in Gloucestershire, donating new carpets for the house.

The makeover, which was free of charge, saw volunteers work from 8am to 5pm both Saturday and Sunday.

Everyone pitched in, with people donating items from paint to a new fridge freezer.

Others spent time dusting, polishing and organising the big clean, while Miss Sutton’s fiance Daniel Pearson transported everything from food to carpets.

Her mum and dad even provided a laundry service for the elderly lady.

The big clean was a success, with the only downside that it was not a complete surprise to the homeowner.

Miss Sutton said: “The original plan was for her to leave on the Friday night and come back on the Sunday, but in the end she was at home in the evenings.

“Reality hit her and she kept asking why we were helping her.

“She was so happy on the Sunday, I’d never seen her like that.

“It was such a beautiful thing to do and a real feel-good weekend.”

Miss Sutton admitted it was an exhausting weekend, but paid tribute to the selflessness of her co-workers, who are already willing to repeat the feat.

She said: “We’ve even talked about doing another one soon.”