Pictured above: Mary Elliot School pupil Kirsty Day presenting the butterfly to June Moriarty, Director of Beechdale Community Housing

Youngsters with disabilities showcased their artistic skills by creating a colourful mosaic as a special thank-you for a Walsall community project.

Pupils at Mary Elliot School, who have severe learning difficulties, made the butterfly model - based on the school logo - from broken tiles.

They presented the gift to June Moriarty, Director of Beechdale Community Housing, as a thank-you for allowing them to take over a bedsit in Hadley Road as part of their "life skills" studies.

The project is helping to teach youngsters valuable lessons about how to run a home and live independently.

Students from the Leamore Lane school are looking after the flat to learn about painting, decorating and furnishing a home, as well as day-to-day tasks such as cleaning, cooking and shopping for groceries.

They are now making the most of the sunny spring weather by working on the community garden outside the bedsit, planting flowers and growing vegetables.

Contractors have slabbed part of the garden to allow access for pupils with wheelchairs.

Work was previously carried out on the property to bring it up to standard, ready for pupils to move in, including replacing the kitchen, plastering walls and putting up new garden fencing.

June Moriarty said: "We are delighted to be able to help the school in this way. The project is teaching these young people about how to manage a home and look after themselves, which will help them in their future lives."

Liz Jordan, headteacher at Mary Elliott School, said: "It is fantastic to have a facility like this which is a natural environment for learning personal and domestic skills.

"To the students, it is a big adventure. They are thoroughly enjoying working there and are very proud of what they are achieving.

"We are very grateful to Beechdale Community Housing for enabling us to have such a wonderful facility. The project will have a far greater impact on pupils' ability to learn by being out in the community, rather than in the classroom."