A Top Gear presenter paid a special visit to a charity to open their new residential rehabilitation centre for children with brain injuries.

Richard “the Hamster” Hammond spent the morning meeting children, parents and staff at the Children’s Trust in Tadworth before the opening ceremony for the £7m centre, funded entirely by donations.

The centre will enable trust to help more children from across the UK rebuild their lives after sustaining brain injuries as a result of a tragic accident or severe illness.

Having sustained a serious brain injury himself in a near fatal accident while filming for the BBC’s Top Gear in 2006, Mr Hammond explained that the care and rehabilitation of brain-injured children was a cause close to his heart.

He said: “I know only too well the challenges people face following a severe brain injury, but for a child there are extra dimensions because their brains are still developing.

“This amazing new building will help The Children's Trust’s specially trained staff give these children the best chance of rebuilding their lives.”

Mr Hammond recently became a vice-president of the trust.

Andrew Ross, chief executive of the Children’s Trust, said: “It has been wonderful to celebrate the opening of our new centre with the children, families and staff who are using it, as well as the generous individuals and organisations which have funded it.

“Our challenge was to design a facility for the nursing and care of children with the most complex physical, psychological and social needs without losing sight of our main purpose: to give the children a road back to normality, marrying expert care with a ‘can do’ attitude to disability.”

The Children’s Trust is a national charity that provides care, education and therapy to children with multiple disabilities and complex health needs.

The rehabilitation centre for children with acquired brain injuries is the largest in the UK. Its opening is part of trust’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

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