Homes for Veterans, Part 2 DIY SOS

Last time on DIY SOS, we came to Manchester

for our biggest ever build - creating a new community for war veterans who had served our country.

We've had people drive up from Swansea, down from Glasgow, across from Hull, up from Kent.

This is now a fully nationwide effort to get this street turned around for us.

First off we turned empty houses into homes for veterans fighting

a harrowing mental battle against post-traumatic stress.

Nothing prepares you for seeing body parts of your mates.

The biggest challenge is fighting your own mental state. I've got to get on with my life.

We renovated a new home for ex-tank commander John Borge...

It's absolutely amazing.

..and his son Noah.

-Is this your new room?

-Yeah, for me. And there's my car!

Veteran Jack Lamb was the first into our retraining centre

where he and other veterans can stay whilst

they learn new trades, enabling them to get back to work.

I can't thank anyone enough.

This is going to 100% give me the opportunity to make the best of myself now.

In this episode, we have a new mission -

to help a family man who has given so much in service.

Without the injuries he was really tall and he liked playing football.

He was a happy man. He was smiling all the time.

But at times when he thinks of the injury, he becomes sad.

Lamin suffered life-changing injuries whilst serving in Afghanistan.

I said, "What do you mean I lose my legs?" I was devastated.

Because I thought that I'm done, you know?

We're going to build him and his family the new home they need.

These two houses will be knocked into one to create a perfect home for Lamin's family.

And we're stepping it up a gear.

We're building a support centre

that does exactly what it says on the tin -

looking after veterans as they return to civilian life.

And we're taking on the challenge of doing up the whole street.

We're refurbishing the front on every house on this side of the street

and on this side of the street, and resurfacing the road,

rebuilding a community so that we can provide homes

and job opportunities for people who have given so much to their country.

It's an epic build that's even received the Royal seal of approval.

Nice to see you.

-..with a sausage.

-Sausage?!

-Royal sausage.

-Royal sausage?

-LAUGHTER

This is the first time you've done this, isn't it?

-We're meant to complete this in just 12 days.

-OMG.

But the sheer scale of the project might just overwhelm us.

This is the first time ever that we've gone over the allocated time

in the 16 years we've been doing this.

But it will be worth it if we can help veterans rebuild their lives.

SOBBING

This is DIY SOS, the biggest ever, ever, ever build!

CHEERING

Lamin Manneh lives in Greater Manchester with his wife, Binta.

We've been married now for 13 years.

Oh, I love him so much. I love him. He's everything to me.

My love for Binta is not... I can't put a word on it.

I can't put numbers on it. It's just there for ever.

They have five lively children together.

My family, to me, is everything.

That's where you get your joy and pride.

When they moved to Britain from the Gambia, Lamin set his heart on contributing to his new homeland.

I've been speaking to people who fought for Queen and country.

They are so proud, and determined,

so that gives me the desire to join the British Army.

He loves England, and he said, "We want to give back something."

Lamin joined the Irish Guards.

In October of 2010, this family man went to face the Taliban

on the front line in Afghanistan,

willing to lay down his life for his country.

The day we left England, I was a bit emotional because I'm leaving,

because you've got your family, you've got your kids - you've got to expect that.

I didn't want to show tears in front of a lady.

He said, "I'll see you on the 7th of February."

But it was emotional, that night.

And he said, "OK, I love you." I said, "I love you back."

Just three months into his tour of duty, Lamin was clearing mines

so his fellow soldiers could build a new lookout post in safety.

Then there was a massive explosion.

EXPLOSION

When it happened, I feel that somebody is putting something in my chest.

I can remember that moment,

and some of my mates around me telling me,

"You'll be all right, you'll be all right."

In reality, it was far from all right.

Lamin had lost not only both legs, but also an arm

when a makeshift Taliban explosive device exploded.

After seven days in a coma,

it was Binta who had the awful job of breaking the news.

That moment...is horrible.

I have to tell him, "You've lost your legs."

I said, "What do you mean I lose my legs? I can feel my legs under the bed. Still there."

I said, "No, you don't have any legs. And you don't have hand."

We have to tell him over and over.

I was devastated.

Tears started coming out. You know, just kept crying.

He said, "My kids don't even recognise me."

They're even scared to go to him.

It was the worst day in our life.

In my life. Because our life changed completely.

During those dark days, Lamin struggled

as he began to realise the impact that his loss of limbs would have on his family.

When I saw my kids so young...

Because I thought, "That's it.

"I'm... I'm done", you know?

I can't give them what they want. I can't be there for them.

Can't give them security, can't give them protection.

He thinks, "My life has ended."

I said "No, we'll be there for each other, we'll help you.

"We'll look after each other."

Now he's left the Army and lives in Manchester, getting used to his prosthetic legs.

He was a happy man, smiling, making jokes all the time.

But at times when he thinks of the injury,

he becomes sad, and that makes us as a family very sad.

Because Lamin is not happy.

And this house is only making things worse.

Lamin suffers constantly from a condition known as phantom limb pain.

He's unable to climb into the bath to relieve his discomfort.

He can't cook on his legs,

and this kitchen just doesn't work when you're in a wheelchair.

And it's so hard to get upstairs, he can go months without ever

enjoying the simple act of putting his children to bed

and reading them stories.

We do everything downstairs, or if they need something upstairs they have to go by themselves.

This house is separating Lamin from his family, the family he loves so much.

It breaks everyone's heart, including his eldest son, Mousa.

If I had three wishes it would be

my dad never got injured, he could walk around on his own without

people helping him,

and he could come to my football matches and watch me play.

I love my dad so much that I would do anything for him.

This hero, who has given so much to protect us,

is becoming distanced from the family he loves so dearly.

This after he's already had to leave his other family,

the military, and the support network that provides.

You've got people around who know what you've been through and they want to help you,

as good neighbours and people from the same military background.

Cos when people from military come to civilian life,

maybe people don't realise what you go through.

We can't turn back the clock for Lamin. I wish we could.

But with a bit of luck and a lot of help,

we might be able to build him a home -

somewhere where he'll be surrounded by fellow veterans, the military family he misses so much.

We want Lamin to be part of the new veterans' community that we're starting in Manchester.

This is what it looked like four months ago -

a rundown cul-de-sac blighted by empty homes.

Believe it or not, the two we've earmarked to knock together

for Lamin and his family were a cannabis factory.

Of course, on the face of it, these don't look like places that you'd ever want to live.

But if we rip out everything, all the walls, take the stairwells out,

these will become nice homes again.

They were once - people lived here proudly.

But people do still live in the street,

and we think the whole community should benefit.

We thought, well, why don't we have a go at actually doing the whole street?

Honestly, we really do appreciate it.

-We do, yeah. Thanks very much.

-All good? My pleasure.

-That's great, Nick.

Well, before we turn up, we have to change all the utilities.

They've already gone in - water, gas, telephone, all those things.

Now we've got just 12 days to transform this wreck for Lamin.

And that's just the start.

At the same time, we're also going to turn this derelict house

into a support centre for both the residents

and to reach out to veterans elsewhere

who might be homeless or unemployed.

And as if that's not enough,

the plan is to give everyone new windows and doors

and render the outside of the ENTIRE street, and landscape it.

-Are we ready to go? ALL:

-Yes!

It really is our biggest ever build.

-So, Lamin's house. This is the big one. This is the big one, the big star, the important...

-Massive.

These little houses are very lovely, but on their own, not big enough for a family of seven.

-So we're knocking two into one.

-Two into one.

But we're not off to a good start, as you'd have seen last time.

We have less than a third of the trades we hoped for, and with the rest of the street to do,

we just don't have the manpower to clear Lamin's house.

-How far are we behind after 15 minutes?

-Probably a week.

-That's just ridiculous.

-Yeah, I know.

-It's crazy, isn't it?

-And we've got 100 people...

-Where we should have 350.

-Yes.

-That's the same number of people as we had for one house.

-Exactly.

-That's not going to work, is it?

-Not really, no.

But I'm sure we'll work it out somehow.

Cracking start, isn't it?

Ceilings, walls, even floors need to come out.

There's more to do with fewer people than usual.

So every man is vital.

Where's Billy? Can't find him. We've got no power on the site.

Wherever he is, you'll hear him. You'll hear him somewhere.

Billy, where are you? We need you to get the power up and running.

Stop messing around, wherever you are.

BAGPIPES PLAY

# ..go marching in I want to be... #

Really? I mean, really?

# Oh, when the Spurs go marching in. #

Once a sea cadet, always a sea cadet, apparently.

-You can actually...

-That's very good.

-He can do it.

-Yeah, he's very good.

Do you need another member of the band? Permanently?

Cos we've had him for 16 years, so we don't mind if you want him.

-We're full. We're absolutely full.

-Yeah, funny, that...

The power's back, but on a normal build this house would be cleared by now

and ready for designer Gabrielle Blackman's vision to start taking shape.

We're a little bit behind. Not to panic anyone.

I've got a question for you.

-He's going to be in here in his new extension.

-Yeah.

Are you going to paint a Muriel over there for him?

Why would I paint a Muriel over there, darling?

Look at the view he's got. Can you not brighten it up for him?

-No, but we've got a wall and an amazing garden...

-Yeah.

-Paint it green, paint trees on it.

-Yeah.

It's a bit embarrassing, we're the only ones coming up with ideas.

Designer is just sitting there saying no.

You say you've got nothing to do, you've still got this one. Make it work.

Look, I've got all these drawings and ideas. It's all done.

Sand, sea, palm trees. A little hotel.

-Please stop it, cos you're making me more annoyed.

-OK.

Let me ask you a question.

How do you feel about the whole project?

Cos obviously it's kind of my fault, a little bit.

-It is ALL your fault.

-A little bit?

That is what's written on the top of my notes. "This is Nick's fault."

'I can't understand why Gabby's a bit upset.

'Well, really I can, cos she put a lot of work into the plans for Lamin.'

We're taking two houses and knocking them together

to make one spacious home.

Downstairs there'll be a large lounge with wide doorways

and room to move around.

A massive extension creates a kitchen-dining room

for the whole family with units which rise and fall

to help Lamin join in.

Lamin and Binta will have a sumptuous bedroom downstairs

with ensuite bathroom

and a soothing mobility bath, meaning he will finally be able

to soak away those pains.

Completing the plan is this lift to three bedrooms for the children.

Lamin will no longer be denied the simple but vital pleasure

of putting his kids to bed.

But we're a long way from that as we're really lacking the manpower.

We'll try just about anything to get on top of this.

That's a bit tight, isn't it?

Yeah, but they are kind of built for this very thing, aren't they?

I mean, you've been in tighter than that, haven't you?

-Oh, yeah. Within, like, two or three mil either side.

-Yeah.

Scraped all the edges on the way in and out, didn't you?

-Quite envious, really, cos I should be doing that.

-Should you?

Yeah, not wide enough, mate.

Much as we'd love to, we can't just prioritise Lamin's house.

All over the street there are jobs that need doing

and this community just won't work

without the help of the support centre.

Don't forget in the Armed Forces that there's a great infrastructure there,

and when you belong to that system, then it's very, very supportive.

You do difficult tasks in difficult places.

But once you've come out of that, then you're on your own.

So you feel like you're outside the family?

I think if you get out and you're fine, you get on with it.

But if you've got problems, it is hard to accept you've got problems.

-You've no-one to talk to.

-So do you think having a system here where we're building houses

-where there will be a number of ex-military in a community...

-Together.

..with a support house for job training and counselling and all the rest of it...

-Brilliant.

-Phenomenal. Phenomenal. Phenomenal.

If you've got mental problems, physical problems,

you know you can knock on your neighbour and he understands

what you're going through, what you've been through

and it's perfect.

That's why this is important.

Most of the building work in Lamin's house depends on a new floor screed,

but we can't lay that until we get this floor clear.

Paul, what time are you turning up with that screed tomorrow?

Six o'clock tomorrow night.

-Are you delivering by, like, a chute and wheelbarrow or...?

-No, no.

-I've got you a concrete pump.

-Have you?

-Yes.

-To the back of the...?

-To get to the back.

Aw! You lovely, lovely man!

-Why are you joining in then, Paul?

-My son-in-law is a soldier, so...

-Is he?

-Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thank God he's not been injured, but... You do a brilliant job, so...

I could kiss him! I'll get you to kiss him.

LOUD KISSES

Thank you!

Yeah, all right. That's enough! He may not be...

Get off!

At least we can get on with the timber frame extension.

It will make space for Lamin's bedroom with that special

ensuite and the big kitchen-dining room which will look out

on a garden designed by seven times Chelsea gold-medal winner,

Adam Frost.

He's landscaping the whole street,

but has something special in store for Lamin.

I've given him a little area to grow veg

-because he said he'd quite like to grow veg.

-Are they raised beds?

Yeah, so he can literally...

Not over-high, but the thing that I think is going to really be special

for him, which breaks all my rules, is that I've put him in Astroturf.

All the boys love football and Lamin can't get to the football

so I want to create a little football pitch.

It will be the littlest football pitch in Britain.

Two little goals and the old man can sit there and watch them.

How wonderful! Back on the street, the Prince of Darkness

and his crew are still waiting to get the green light.

There's so much demolition going on, getting Billy to get in,

get his first fixed sparking done so the borders and the plasterers

can follow him.

I'm getting frustrated. Sparks not doing anything.

But we've just sent them for a cup of tea.

If things couldn't get any more ridiculous -

and do feel free to laugh at us if you want to...

This is actually quite funny...

'We've got the digger stuck in the kitchen.'

Eh, Adam!

Good timing for you to be here because I've got some good news

and bad news. The digger that you needed for the garden has turned up.

The bad news is, we can't get it out of the house now that we got it in.

Can you imagine walking in your front door when you get home

from work and you've been in?

Absolutely brilliant.

What you can do is you dig a hole and you dig yourself further

and further down and then when you've got it low enough,

-we shovel it in all over the top and put a floor in.

-Superb!

Do you think everyone's talking rubbish

-because we're in a state of panic?

-Yes.

-I'm absolutely fine.

I've come up here to build five gardens

and we've got two members of staff.

Are you confident?

No.

LAUGHTER

It's day one and we've had a third of the labour that was required.

Yes.

Now, that third is all going to go home and say,

"Them boys are up against it. We need more labour."

Let's have this conversation tomorrow

and I bet we're all in a better place.

As we face an uphill struggle,

I've got a very important visitor to impress.

As you can hear, there's a little heavy industry going on in there.

-Yes.

-Are you sure this hasn't put you off?

-No, it hasn't put me off. It's the development stage.

-Yeah.

THEY LAUGH

-So, essentially, it's that one and that one.

-Yeah.

So then it will become a double house

so there'll be plenty of room for the children. Nice open areas downstairs.

Yeah.

And, also, we're going to make sure you've got access upstairs,

easy access, because I know the whole thing about the kids going to bed

and you not being able to get up in amongst them.

-Yeah, it's difficult for me.

-It's been upsetting you?

Oh, yeah, a lot. It's just about bedtime, you know?

Read a story, lay them on the bed, give them a cuddle,

have a good night, give a kiss.

Just little things make a difference.

What really amazed me is the number of people taking time, you know?

Putting time into this. And you people bringing them all together.

Yes, but it's only right and proper, isn't it?

You've gone and served your country and now... You know?

Yeah, but sometimes when you're in a world of your own,

you think that there is nobody there for you.

But you come here and it's completely...different.

Well, I promise you, in two weeks' time - or less -

we'll have something completely different to show you.

-Fantastic!

-Somewhere I think you can genuinely feel is a home

and you can be in a community where you feel safe

and you can be part of a proper community, you know?

Oh, fantastic! I can't wait!

'Did I just promise him we'd finish on time?'

Day two and we're still so short on trades, even the timber frame

extension, which should be up, has ground to a halt.

Are we waiting for brickies to turn up, is that what's going on?

-I believe so, yeah, to get the demolition works done.

-Right.

To get these steels in the openings.

You need that before you can get any more of this timber frame on?

We've done most of our work in the car park over there to get

a move on then come over here and been delayed, so...

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

There's a lot of frustrated people on site. Jules is happy, though.

At least he can get on with something.

-It won't come out. It just will not have it.

-But has he met his match?

-It's him versus the stump now.

-Get out!

It's not going to end until one of them gives way.

HA-HA!

Mate, give it up! Trundle away with your puny implement.

Why don't you let the bigger one have a go and sort it out?

I've been here an hour!

Got to dig this out. He's going to come and steal all my glory.

Move over. Yours is too weedy!

I've got it to this point, all right?

-Yeah, but it's not out.

-It's like extracting a tooth.

-Tractor wars.

-See? It's not that easy, is it?

Oh, he's got it, he's got it. It's going, it's going!

In the end, the big one's better than the little one, isn't it?

I'm gutted. Absolutely gutted about that, I am.

It's a man thing!

Billy is still going on about not being able to get into the houses.

We've laid off a group of sparks for tomorrow, about ten sparks.

We laid them off because we know they'll be standing about.

If they get bored and stand about they might not come the next day.

So we'd rather have them all here Friday, give them a break tomorrow,

let them go and earn some money, and...

-It's a message.

-Oh, it's a record!

# You'd better go now

# Go now... #

What I meant was, Bill, you sound like a broken record.

LAUGHTER

No, I was being positive.

I'm laughing, but I really don't know why.

The whole street is in trouble, honestly.

Wiring, plumbing, plastering.

From Lamin's house to the support centre,

there's no good news anywhere.

# You'd better go now... #

The trades that are here are determined to do their best,

but it's the end of day two, we're still clearing

when we should be building and we're falling further and further behind.

# ..before you see me cry... #

You shouldn't be able to see me now.

There should be a roof on top of this.

We simply need more bodies.

# Just tell me what you intend to do now. #

Oh, my lord!

What's going on? What's the matter?

I am actually in the semi-fetal position

and shrinking into my coat... ..in fear and worry and desperation.

What's wrong?

Because we've only got 120-odd people on site, we have only done

about a third of the work we need to do.

And we're trying to get hold of people

and we just can't get hold of people. We are literally critical.

We are already having to put back what we were going to do tomorrow

to the next day and if that shifts on, we've had it.

Genuinely, we've had it!

So, I don't know what to do really.

'Hit the phones, social media, radio, everything.'

'BBC Radio 6 Music.'

'Put a shout out to all trades and material suppliers

'to help DIY SOS on our veterans' build in Manchester.

'If you're in the trades, Nick needs you.'

Let me be clear, the 100 people we've got here

are working themselves to death,

but we do desperately need more.

Families can be torn apart by incidents on the battlefield.

While Binta plays with the other children,

I want to find out how Lamin's eldest, Mousa, has dealt with it all.

-Do you remember when it happened?

-Er, yeah.

How did you feel at the time when you found out?

Really devastating, what happened to him.

And my mum was crying madly

and we didn't know what to do.

And we went to him in the hospital straightaway after we found out.

Were you frightened when you went to see your dad?

Yeah, really frightened cos I didn't know someone could

actually do that to a human being.

-How is that possible?

-Yeah.

And do you think he's changed much himself?

Without the injuries he was really tall

-and he liked playing football a lot...

-Did he?

-..with us. Yeah.

-It was his favourite sport, was it?

-Uh-huh.

-Does your dad come to watch you when you play football?

-Sometimes he does.

When he does it makes me feel really happy.

When you look at your dad, what do you see?

He's a hero to me and everyone in my family,

that he went through all of that.

-Amazing, really, isn't he?

-Yeah.

I always think that whenever I meet him. We always walk away...

I think he's an amazing man, your dad.

When your dad was injured, did you feel like there was...?

Suddenly, like, you had to look after your mum and stuff?

Yeah, I had to watch the kids while she was making food.

Was that pressure for you to actually have to take over

and help out like that?

No, it was fine because I got to learn how it's like to

be in the future, how to be a grown-up.

Take all the responsibility.

-You were all right with that, were you?

-Yeah.

'What a remarkable young man.'

We really need to get this build done for the whole family.

And speaking of remarkable people, look at this!

It's the start of day three with lots and lots of lovely trades.

And 20 construction students to boot.

You know, we just might get this project back on track.

I'm actually genuinely a little bit emotional today.

Look at it.

The fact of the matter is, they have turned up.

Morning!

Weirdly, despite the height, I was expecting them to sing Heigh-Ho.

-# Heigh-ho, heigh-ho... #

-Hang on, hang on! Oi!

Yup, there goes Dopey.

He's still Grumpy.

Bashful's in the digger

and this one's got to be Happy.

You know, every person here has their own reason for wanting to help out.

I'm a veteran myself.

I was in the Royal Engineers for eight years

so I know what it's like when you come out the army.

-I was a soldier as well.

-Oh, were you?

-Yeah, yeah, many moons ago.

So, I understand.

So do you think the support that we're building into the street here

in terms of the support house up the road and everything...?

They need that, definitely. Definitely need that.

This support centre is key to building a wider community.

It's where veterans living in the street

can find the critical assistance they need on health and job issues -

so vital for their physical and mental wellbeing.

The neighbours can use it too

and there'll be outreach work to help even more veterans

who might be homeless or in trouble with the law.

Charity Walking With The Wounded will be running it.

Co-founder Ed Parker is on site to see how we're getting on.

What do you make it, 300 people a day?

I think it shows what people think of our veterans.

I think it shows people appreciate who they are, what they've done

and also, do you know what, this is about being British, isn't it?

-Yeah, kind of. Kind of is, isn't it?

-Yeah, cos we help each other.

We look after each other.

'Kind of makes you proud, doesn't it?'

-Can this have an impact for veterans?

-It must have an impact.

The whole principle of the sort of community

within the community and getting people going,

making them self-sufficient, making them independent, it's what works.

Now, we are purveyors of man hugs and I even got one off the Royals.

-Yes, no?

-I'd love a man hug!

'Who doesn't love a man hug?!

'But we're still a long way off finishing.

'We've got scaffolding to put up along the street in preparation

'for rendering all the outsides of the houses.

'We need to plasterboard inside the support centre throughout

'and in Lamin's house we need to complete the structural work.

'There's so much!'

There's not much of the house left.

This is why it's been such a difficult build in terms

of getting things in the right order

and once we get the steel in to cover that way,

then we're finally in the position

where we can start doing this extension.

'With the steels in to keep the house standing,

'we can finally knock these two houses into one

'and get a roof on the extension

'to create the space that Lamin's family will need.

'And, at long last, Billy can set his sparks loose.

'Release the electricians!'

The guys, all electricians,

they're just mowing through all the cabling,

all know what they're doing and just ploughing through it.

'Mowing, ploughing? It's not farming, Billy.

'Bit agricultural, to be fair.'

We're just getting the houses cleared out now

and the last of the installation on the floor

and the Visqueen's laid because we're on target to lay the floors.

We've never poured so much concrete.

This is for the builds all along the street.

We've started with a life-changing support centre

and finishing at the other end of the street with Lamin's house

and these floors will give us the chance

to finally start building things inside.

It'll be a late finish

so this is my chance to take Lamin up on a challenge he's given me.

He wants to take me on at seated volleyball.

Me - has he underestimated what an athlete I am?

I think he has.

-Come on, Lamin, you've got this, man.

-I've got it, I've got it.

You've got to keep an eye on his arms, all right?

MUSIC: Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor

That's what I'm talking about!

His point.

His point, it was a double rebound.

-That's one all, Lamin.

-Yeah.

-Decider. Ready for this?

-I'm ready. Let's get it.

OK, here we go.

That's the bit I'm not very good at.

Come on!

Seriously?

It's the only sport I'm involved in,

it gives you a sense of expressing yourself.

I feel happy inside. Sort of feel that you've got something

and you can demonstrate that, I can do something more.

Yeah, and I suppose that's the thing, isn't it? Cos you're still

a young man and you still want to be doing all those things.

I want to do a lot, as much as I can.

Lamin needs to keep his weight down and his core muscles strong

if he wants to keep wearing his prosthetic legs

so staying active is important, embarrassing me - not so much.

But there's so much more to this than just fitness.

The camaraderie is obviously a big thing

and you miss that with your unit?

Yeah. When I come here, it gives me that a little bit.

They always say that, you know, the armed forces is like a family.

-Yeah.

-The guys that are coming back,

helping us on the site at the moment, think of you as family.

Yeah, you do so much for each other.

Maybe your family's in need, you are far away, I'm there.

I say, "You know what? Don't worry. I'll do this, I'll do this for you."

Every time I meet this man, I find him more inspiring.

You know, life's simple really.

It's all about teamwork.

Halfway through the build

and I can return to a site that feels like it's getting somewhere.

It's the sound of it that I love so much.

Now, most people would found this difficult to understand that

such a noisy site could be something lovely, but...

..it's the noise of activity.

And not just on the street. In the gardens, Adam is working his magic.

We've absolutely smashed on and each garden now is starting

to sort of take form.

All the boys have got smiles on their faces, which is...

They really have, haven't they, when you look round? I mean, Jules!

Jules, for me, is like a barometer of happiness.

Gabby on the other hand,

maybe she'll relax now she can get into Lamin's house.

Where's the floor? Where's the floor?

I can't wrap it up pretty for you, they've run out of concrete.

It was 11 o'clock at night.

Quarry was closed, they ran out.

-And... And we did this one last?

-Yeah.

-Not first.

No, because they were still prepping as they were coming down the street.

We've got a lift to go in, we've got to attach it to some walls.

We've got to get the walls in today.

So we can at least get the guys upstairs

-and just get cracking with that floor?

-Well, they are taking...

There's still walls coming out upstairs.

I don't want to make anyone feel bad

because everyone is working so hard. I just...

-Yeah, I know. I know.

-Yeah.

-Honestly, we'll get there.

-Sorry, darling. OK.

-We'll get there.

-All right, my love.

Right, come on, everybody. We need to order up some more concrete

while we crack on with everything we CAN DO in the rest of the street.

All my boys are in their houses

just making sure the cable's come through in the right places.

So, yeah, it's going to be a busy day.

Thankfully, reinforcements are here to sort out Lamin's house -

three generations of one family.

So what are you guys doing on site? What are they making you do?

-Whatever they need us to do.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

I'm ex-army, I started... I did 23 years in the army.

I've done a couple tours of Afghanistan myself.

Well, the reality is if you've done a couple of tours of Afghanistan

then you could've been one of those guys, couldn't you?

-Yeah.

-And that's why I'm here.

You're a little bit emotional thinking about it.

They put their lives on the line so we can be what we want

to be in England, in the UK and they deserve everything they get.

-Whole family. What's the family name?

-Walton.

-We're the Waltons.

-You're kidding me.

-John Boy Walton.

-You're the Waltons?

We are the Waltons.

That's...! You can't make that up, can you? That's fantastic.

Yes, here it is! Yes!

MUSIC: The Waltons Theme Song

Gets very excited, doesn't he? But it is exciting,

-the concrete's arrived.

-This is the pump,

it's turned up so we can get the screed poured

from the back of the big concrete wagon

into Lamin's house so we can have a lovely, smooth floor to play on.

That may be true but with less than a week to go,

everyone needs to be in three places at once.

I've been running around five houses

trying to keep hold of maybe 32 plasterers.

Is it OK to have a celebration?

I think it probably is as long as we just don't make a big deal of it.

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday dear Adam

# Happy birthday to you. #

-Thank you very much. Thank you. Erm...

-Go on, blow your candle out.

It looks slightly resemblant of your birthday cake from yesterday.

'Yes, it is the remains of my birthday cake from yesterday,

'but I'm not one to make a fuss.'

-It's the least I could do.

-Do you know what? You are right.

It is... It is the least you could do.

'Now we have floors and walls,

'here's Lamin's lift to be fitted by another veteran.'

Your dad was telling us that you got caught up in a blast yourself.

I did, yeah. And we basically patrolled up to PB Shahzad

and obviously I was lead truck that day and went up.

And you seem to be in reasonably good nick.

I was lucky to be in a Mastiff vehicle at the time

which are built to take those kind of impacts.

So unlike Lamin where he's very unlucky being on foot,

-you know, I was OK.

-Really lovely to meet you.

-Thank you very much.

-Cheers.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, Nick.

-I'll let you get on with it.

-Thank you.

Three-quarters of the way into the build we can make good

on our promise of new doors, windows and render for the whole street.

-Not bothered by the disturbance?

-No. It needed doing.

You know, I'm just glad that it's happening

-and it's all for the better.

-Yeah.

-It really is.

I mean, I've not been this happy for ages, really haven't.

This community is going to be something special.

Gabby's learning how important that will be

for Binta and the family.

When he was in the army, we had a lot of friends around.

They're just like family to us,

they would come around, they would pick you up to go out.

And tell me about where you're living now.

It's totally different from where we were before. Now...

we're alone.

That's how I feel.

We have some problems.

-Kids throwing stones.

-Kids threw stones at you?

-Yeah.

-Why?

-I don't know.

They threw stones until they hit my older daughter

on the forehead.

-It must've been so scary, Binta.

-Yeah.

But I can't do anything because I'm scared. I can't go out.

So it is difficult for me on my own there,

with those kids behaving like that.

After all he's done for his country.

You know, we have to make this family safe

and get them into their new community as soon as possible.

Back on site we need to face facts.

We have made up ground but there's still so much to do.

So, we call the trades together to take an unprecedented step.

Delay the handover to the families.

This is the first time ever

that we've gone over the allocated time for us

in the 16 years we've been doing this.

We will be continuing to build and then we are planning

to hand the street back to the residents

and new resident veterans on Monday morning.

'That gives us just three days.

'If we're delaying the handover, what do you suppose Jules' priority is?'

-All right, guys and girls?

-Yeah, how about yourself?

An army marches on its stomach, doesn't it?

And we've got a small army out there that need feeding.

So what do you think the possibility is of extending

-the catering for three days?

-Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem.

And I get a little bit grumpy if I'm hungry.

-Nobody wants a grumpy Jules, do they?

-No, no.

-Keep up the good work.

-Cheers. Thank you very much.

-See you at lunch time.

-See you there.

Well done, Jules. That's sorted.

We're just going through every house now

because there's a lot, a lot of second fixing.

The deadline's moved. It is not going to move again.

We've got to pull the front of these houses together,

all the plastering out, start throwing all the design

and furniture and everything back in. It's not going to move.

We've got to deliver, we've got three days, we're on it.

But our new deadline doesn't help Gabby much.

I must be in here now decorating.

We should have finished floors down, second fix should be in,

you know, this should be done. We are so behind.

As every minute counts now to try and claw back some time,

Mark's suggested a quicker floor to lay in Lamin's bathroom.

What our project manager Mark wants is us to forget the beautiful floor

and put down a safety vinyl and we just can't do that, can we?

-No, you don't want that.

-I mean, it would just look awful.

Yeah, loaded the argument there a little bit, didn't she?

What this build is trying to achieve has been

attracting attention from all corners.

As you may have heard, we had two very special guests,

Princes William and Harry.

-Morning, Nick.

-Morning, Your Royal Highnesses.

'On their visit, they were here to meet and muck in.'

A country fit for heroes, now we're getting houses fit for heroes.

Houses for heroes, there it is. You heard it here first.

'And, of course, talk to Lamin.'

There's a real vibe going on down there, you know...

-It's going to be complete chaos.

-Oh, definitely.

Your new neighbours who are living there already

can't wait to welcome you all here, which is fantastic.

Oh, we can't wait to embrace them as well.

It's something, we want to show that this has to be something

which has to be in every big city.

That's it. We've been saying the same,

all the veterans are in the same street as the families.

-Fantastic, real good community for you.

-Oh, definitely.

-Spread it out across the whole country.

-Spread it out.

Every veteran needs this opportunity.

Because this way, you can relate to people.

If we can do that across the country,

maybe the suicide rate will go down

and all the issues which affect people.

This project is one of the things which will definitely

solve most of the problems, I think.

And how have you kept such positivity,

how have you managed to be so positive about it all?

Because, for me, I am one of the luckiest boys in the world.

I've got my family, I've got myself, I can do my things, I can think.

You know, those people who are struggling, they have to

rely on people all the time to do things, which I feel so much.

So, for me, every day in life, I just take it as it comes.

You see what I mean? He's so inspirational.

And our royal visit has energised the whole site

and helped carry us through some dark times.

Now with just a couple of days left,

the tiled bathroom floor Gabby insisted on is nearly done.

Awesome.

But it's taken most of the day.

Hold on a minute. It's ten to three.

We started in here at eight o'clock this morning, right?

That a hard job in there. They've done a lovely job on it.

If you had vinyl-ed that floor,

they could've been on the walls at nine o'clock in the morning.

There are some finishes that we can't compromise on,

and this room, it's so important that it looks like an exquisite

and elegant and beautiful bathroom and not like a hospital. It's...

The guys have done a fantastic job. You've wasted a day on me.

I hate the way he always gets the last word. It's so irritating.

-Someone's going, "It is."

-It is really annoying, isn't it?

And then if you try and get the last word then he comes back

and does it again and then it just goes on and on and on.

Don't... Don't... Don't speak.

LAUGHTER

At last, these buildings are starting to look like homes.

I've just realised I'm walking on carpet.

I hadn't noticed that going down, but there is carpet everywhere,

which is very exciting.

And outside, Adam's team have quietly worked wonders.

His design for the support centre is really...

growing on me?

-Look at this.

-Plants and everything.

-Yeah. Calming, beautiful.

Weirdly, it's almost like you've connected up the bits that

were already here with the new bits coming in.

You're starting to sound like a designer.

We've got rooms ready to be finished. I can't believe it.

Kitchen's being fitted...

and bathrooms awaiting their baths.

I'm just so pleased to see this here. It is beautiful.

So we're into the final straight of the biggest ever, ever, ever,

build for DIY SOS. It's the biggest we've ever attempted.

But we're not there yet.

Mark is on street duty...

-We've got this hole in the road...

-Yeah.

..and I think it needs looking into.

..Chris is rallying the troops...

Make that look pink.

I've got a million and one jobs to do and that'll be one off the list.

Gentlemen.

..and Jules is...

Where is Jules?

Apparently Jules is playing Peepo!

More like Where's Wally?

Adam and his team are putting the final touches to the garden...

I've had everything from tears to tantrums

and everything in between really.

..and Gabby's mucking up the measuring.

CHEERING

That's normally Mark's job.

And, after 16 years, we finally get the answer to the question

how many Billies does it take to screw in a light bulb?

The answer is in fact one,

but it'll only work if he didn't do the wiring.

So now it's a mad rush for the finish line.

Everyone's working flat out all over the street

on this epic build into the night.

-It's incredible, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's like a big party.

-Yeah.

-A tarmacking party.

-Yeah, I love them. I've been to one before.

And once the rest of the tarmac gets laid before daybreak,

we might be exhausted, but we will be finished.

In just two weeks, we've carried out the biggest build we've ever done.

It's taken more than 600 trades,

30,000 man-hours,

10,000 cups of tea,

an incredibly helpful council

and millions of pounds in goods and services

generously donated by firms across the country.

Oh, yeah, and a couple of princes. We really mustn't forget about those.

We've got the same name. Tell what our name is.

-Prince of Darkness.

-There you go.

We transformed this whole street,

improving life for the local community

and the wounded servicemen who will be moving in.

Every house on the street has a new front, new doors and new windows.

We've built a home for PTSD sufferer John and his son, Noah,

where they can rebuild their lives.

Love you.

We've built a home where veterans like Jack can live

while they retrain in the local college

and learn new skills to get their lives up and running.

I would like to thank everyone for what yous done. It's an amazing job.

You've made England proud, you've made Britain and the service proud.

We transformed this derelict shell to create a centre for

support and careers advice.

It's about jobs, providing security for the guys

and for the families and for the wider community.

So this is fantastic.

And the legacy continues with 17 empty properties on the street handed

to Haig Housing to be renovated for veterans in the next year.

Veterans like Lamin and his family.

Five years ago, Irish Guard Lamin stepped on a bomb in Afghanistan

and received injuries that tore his and his family's life apart.

I was devastated.

Any time my wife comes, I look at her and she's been crying.

When I saw my kids so young,

I told her, I said...

..I'm done.

Our life changed completely.

Back in civilian life and without Army support,

he found he could no longer be the father he once was.

Trapped on the ground floor of his house,

he can't even read his kids a bedtime story.

I can't give them what they want. I can't be there for them.

I can't give them security, can't give them protection.

So we took two abandoned houses and turned them into a home

where Lamin can rejoin his family.

The living room is warm and inviting.

A large extension creates space for an open-plan kitchen

and dining room so the family can relax and eat together.

We've created a peaceful bedroom with its own en suite,

complete with a special bath to ease Lamin's pains.

And, yes, Gabby's determination did pay off -

those tiles are fit for a king.

And now family life will be transformed by this lift,

a lifeline that means Lamin can easily get upstairs once more

to read those bedtime stories.

In their new room, the girls can host tea parties.

The younger boys have their own special place.

While Mousa gets a room with space to study away from the family hubbub.

Completing the upstairs is a bathroom for the children to share.

Outside, bifold doors open into a garden where Lamin can relax.

And Adam has created a special pitch with the children can kick

a ball with Lamin right there beside them.

It's been a labour, but a labour of love.

Now it's time to see what he makes of it all.

-How are you feeling today?

-I'm feeling great.

-Excited? Worried?

-Excited. Mixed emotional in a way.

It's just like I came there the first day and what I've seen

and then now, it's just the final bit,

which is a bit difficult for me at the moment.

-It's changed a bit, hasn't it?

-Yeah, it's changed so much. Oh, my God.

-Yeah.

-I've not seen you emotional. You're a man who laughs all the time.

You hold your feelings in.

And of course you're Army, you don't do emotions, do you?

This is about people doing things.

Because I like to do things for people and people feel it.

But this one now, people are telling me, "You know what? This is yours."

That made a difference for me. Which I don't think I have...

I don't think I...

-Or you just didn't believe.

-Yeah.

Yeah, that's it.

LAMIN SOBS

I know, man.

Mate, this is about people saying "thank you" to you.

This is about...

-It's a lot to take in.

-Yeah.

It is for me doing things for people.

Yes, and you have done things for people.

You have done - you've gone and kept us safe.

So that's why these people have come together to try and make you

and your family safe. It's... You deserve this.

People wanted to do this for you.

We've only seen the outside of the street, mate.

-What are you going to be like when I show you inside?

-I don't know.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

OK, so this is the entrance hall

and we're going to start with the room to the left.

Oh, my God.

LAMIN CHUCKLES

Wow.

-So have we got the colours right of the blinds?

-Of course.

-Everything in this place is just perfect.

-You?

-Oh, yeah, perfect.

-A place for your family to be together.

-Oh, yeah.

-Is it OK?

-Yeah.

-I want to thank everyone.

-You don't need to, mate. You don't need to.

Oh.

Oh, my God.

Wow.

I know what you're thinking. That sink's very low.

Yeah, I know. Definitely that's for me.

But it also goes high, in the same way as the cooker, by the way.

-Oh, OK.

-It can either go up...

The whole thing goes down as well.

Central area, so for preparation of food,

cos I know that food is very important.

-Yeah.

-Big family space, isn't it?

-Yeah, definitely.

And nice, too, cos you've got the other veterans around.

-They can come in.

-They can come. Everybody does that.

We've got like each festival where we invite people,

neighbours, you know?

-Do you like the wallpaper, by the way?

-Yeah, it's great.

-For people, you get phantom limb pain.

-Right?

When you look at different colours, it distracts you.

So any moment I've got to distract me away from it,

colours help me to do that.

We've got your bedroom downstairs.

Wow.

-Will Binta like it, do you think?

-She will like it, definitely.

It's beautiful.

-And the door behind you...

-Yeah?

-..is an important door, too. Go look at your new bathroom.

-Oh, my God.

-OK, important thing to show you here. It's a bath...

-Yeah.

..but it's a bath with a lift.

-This comes up...

-Yeah.

-..swings out, swings down. You sit on it...

-And it takes you up.

Up, around, back in.

When I got injured, I've never taken a bath now about five years now.

When I go in I just keep slipping

and falling down and I don't want to break any part of my body again.

-So this is rescuing me.

-Every day you can have a bath.

-Every day.

Every five minutes.

THEY LAUGH

What was the other thing that was really bugging you?

-To be able to go up and down.

-Getting upstairs.

-Yeah.

I'm not able to be there like a father. That's a bit difficult.

Yeah. Let me show you something.

Press the button.

Wow.

It'll close and all you do is press one and you have to hold it down.

-Yeah.

-So have a go.

-Yeah. Wow.

This is good. I know that every night, even when I am tired,

I can just jump on the lift, take them to bed, to be a proper father,

-to be part of every step of the way, read books.

-Show your family?

Yeah, definitely.

-Here we go. So, welcome to your new house.

-Oh!

-Daddy!

-You all right?

-Is it all right?

-I can't believe.

-You like it?

-Chocolate biscuit!

Amazing. New house - more interested in the chocolate biscuits.

Thank you.

-Mummy, look up the stairs.

-Go in there.

-This thing can go up and down.

-This is a mansion.

Oh, my.

All for us.

I don't know what to say.

Thank you.

That's my bedroom now.

ALL: Wow!

This is a bathroom.

This place is so amazing.

Take you upstairs. If you see your bedroom, you will like it.

Can I get some tea, please?

LAMIN LAUGHS

Oh, thank you very much.

You want me to read you something? Sit down.

-Daddy.

-Oh, yeah.

Whoa!

Oh, my.

When a soldier is injured, it's not only the soldier that is injured,

the family becomes injured, too.

-Yeah.

-Yes?

-Mm-hm.

-So times have been hard.

-Yeah.

We have hard times but today all is gone.

Is it a family house for you?

Yes. I love this house.

I don't know how to express it.

It's the best thing we've ever had.

The best thing.

Thank you.

Whoa.

This is amazing.

Table football wallpaper, you know, like foosball, they call it,

-don't they?

-Yeah.

-You like it?

-Yeah.

They made a mistake. They put some rubbishy football team in here...

LAUGHTER

-This is good.

-Comfy.

We've got a responsibility to prove that this is something which

every part of the country needs, what veterans need

and this is what their family needs.

And I'm going to get better, better on my legs.

Maybe in future you will not see a stick with me again.

-I almost forgot. I've got one more thing to show you.

-Wow.

ALL: Wow!

Oh, my God, a little football.

Oh, my goodness.

It's a good environment.

So, Adam, who's designed the garden,

he's done something he's never done before.

He's put artificial grass into the garden,

so you don't have to mow the lawn.

-Yeah.

-You want them to have a little football pitch,

it's difficult for you to see the football sometimes.

-Yeah, yeah.

-They can show you their skills here.

-Exactly.

I can even sit down and tell them how to dribble, how to pass.

I love the football area. It's amazing.

We can all play and Daddy can watch us.

It's beautiful at night, by the way.

-There's little lights all over the place.

-Yeah.

-Light up the garden.

Also, raised beds.

Adam's planted them with beautiful plants for this year

but he says he'll be very upset if you don't take all the plants out

and plant them with vegetables next year.

-Cos you said you wanted to grow vegetables.

-Vegetables, yeah.

-This is good.

-It's good?

-Yeah. This is...

Yeah.

-Do you want to meet some of the people that built it?

-Definitely.

Here we go.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Somebody said something in the week to me that you have gone away

and done what you've done to keep us safe.

We feel that we've used our skills now to make you safe

and it's a way of us saying thank you, and you deserve it, mate,

and I think we all feel that, don't we?

ALL: Yeah!

Mousa, what do you think of the house?

The house is amazing and I love my bedroom,

and thank you all for your time that you've come to do our house.

It's amazing.

-He speaks well, your boy, doesn't he?

-Yeah, he's always like that.

Sometimes, you know, words cannot express how somebody feels.

What you all people did there, I can't put words to it.

Because, for me...

it's one thing I had never thought that something would

happen in my life, to see people coming together,

every part of the country, and just give so much to me and my family

that we could call a place where we will live for the rest of our life.

I feel...

What you all did, you don't know what this means,

but all your efforts, your resources, your time and energy

you put into that, to create that opportunity for me

to be able to mingle with my family like a normal parent,

be able to take your kids to bed, read a story to them,

kiss them, tell them good night,

which I've struggled to do for a while,

so this gives me that opportunity for me to be a normal father

and I wish you all the best in your life, whatever you dream of,

that all you dream come true, as you make my dream come true.

APPLAUSE

Yeah. Good work. Yeah, man, thanks.

You know, it's been the most extraordinary privilege to be

part of this build, building a community for veterans.

People have come from Glasgow, from Swansea, from Devon, from Kent

to join in with this because they believed it was

the right thing to do, and it will continue.

Veterans' houses will be put all along the street, new families

will move in and it will become a real community.

There's no reason why it should stop here.

This could be repeated all over the country in different cities,

because I know there are veterans near you that need your help.

Thank you. Yeah, thanks.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

-You're home, man. You're home.

-Thank you. Yeah.

Thank you.

THEY SOB