A WATCHET man has finally learnt to read at the age of 41 thanks to the charity Read Easy.

Thomas Greenwell, who was the most premature baby in the West Country when he was born at 1lb 3oz.

He had a tracheotomy until he was four to assist his breathing and until the age of eight, was in a wheelchair as he needed constant use of an oxygen cylinder.

Although he did attend the Frenchay Hospital School in Bristol, and then a special school, he missed out on many years of education as he was unable to talk or walk for so many years.

Thomas now lives with his mother, Helen, in Watchet and works a couple of days a week at a warehouse distribution centre.

Helen says he is highly sociable, and his vocabulary is very good, but somehow reading was always a problem.

For the past two years he has worked one-to-one with his Read Easy tutor, Penny, every week at Williton Library, slowly developing his reading skill through the use of phonics. She says she is very proud of him for the work and effort he has put in.

Thomas says it has made him feel more confident and has opened new doors for him.

He said: “I can now read a newspaper and menu and am very grateful to Penny for all her help.”

Mum Helen explained that they had tried for years to help him understand documents, but it had been a slow process. Now she says they are going to build on his success graduating from the Read Easy course and work on numeracy as well.

The Taunton and Wellington branch of the national charity Read Easy was started in Somerset 10 years ago and has since expanded into Bridgwater. It is run solely by volunteers.

For more information, visit readeasy.org.uk.