HE got the nickname “Mister Bister” when he was in intensive care after being born with brain damage after he suffered a stroke while in the womb.

Now, Joe Chant is four years old and his parents, Rachael and Stuart, have been fundraising to re-model their Alton house so they can keep him at home with them and care for him “with safety and dignity”.

So far they have raised £10,300 through sponsored events – their next door neighbours held their own mini-triathlon, another went on a beer chase – and this has been added to the Hampshire County Council grant to convert the garage into a bedroom and build a single-storey wet room extension.

Work is scheduled to start in September but it can’t go ahead until the gas boiler can be moved up into the attic.

So the couple are looking for a “gas-safe registered plumber” to offer his or her time free to do the job which, said Rachael, “will help us complete the work without using a large chunk of our funds”.

The couple have also received a lot of help from the Alton Beer Festival’s charitable fund as well as donations through its website link.

Rachael and Stuart, who owns the Stella Driving School in Bordon, met when they were teachers at Calshot Activities Centre in Southampton, and Rachel went on to teach science at Robert Mays School in Odiham.

After moving into their first house in Lindford and looking forward to having their first child, they had no idea anything was wrong when Joe was born.

“He was in the intensive care unit,” she said. “In fact that is where he got his nickname, as we were lovingly calling him Bister and the hospital added the Mister because it rhymed – but five days after he was born we were told Joe had suffered a stroke while in the womb in my last stage of pregnancy.

“He is registered blind, although he has some vision, he has brain damage and cerebral palsy, and he will always be in a wheelchair and a nappy user.

“Building him his own special place in our house means we can look after him at home and also the carers who help us will have space when looking after him.”

A “loving, smiley boy”, Joe is making good progress. He is a pupil at Treloar’s nursery and Rachel is taking him to the Riding for the Disabled Centre at Medstead.

“Because Joe, although we have a cat, loves big animals like horses and cows, in fact he would like us to have a farm. We are going to see if he is old enough to start riding at the centre and he will love meeting the horses.”

The couple now also have a 15-month-old son, Samuel.

“The boys get on really well and if we get our building work done we can keep Joe at home and they will grow up together,” said Rachael.

If there is a friendly gas boiler expert out there willing to do the job for free, e-mail Rachael at [email protected].

To add to Mr Bister’s fundraising, visit en-gb.facebook.com/bistersbuild.