A NEW member of the therapy team has joined Dorset disability charity Diverse Abilities Plus.

Elfin the Shetland pony is now working with children and adults with profound physical and learning disabilities across the county, and the charity is asking for help from the public to keep funding the therapy.

Children and adults caring for Elfin are reaping the benefits that animal therapy provides, but the charity’s supporters are being urged to give £10 via local giving.com, which will grow to £20, or £22.50 including gift aid, through the organisation’s Grow Your Tenner campaign.

It costs £25 to fund the pony therapy for a day and Elfin, who has been specially trained to work with people with special needs, can help those with disabilities by giving them greater confidence and self-esteem, build trust, create a sense of achievement, improve communication and self-expression and improve attention.

Jenny Pearce, communications manager at Diverse Abilities Plus, said: “Children and adults supported by Diverse Abilities visit Elfin regularly at her home at Holton Lee, near Wareham, and the benefits of this are unbelievable.”

To donate to Diverse Abilities Plus visit localgiving.com/charity/diverseabilities. For further information about the charity, visit diverseabilitiesplus.org.uk