A BOURNEMOUTH woman is using her love of baking to help battle depression.

Rebecca Read says she has lost both her confidence and independence after she was involved in a serious car crash in 2008.

She now has to use a wheelchair, suffers from pain in her back, hips, neck and shoulders and relies heavily on her husband, Steve.

“We’ve had a really tough few years," she said.

"Since the car crash in 2008, life has been really difficult.

“Steve lost his job shortly after the car crash then my mum passed away in 2013, just over eight years since losing my dad, both at relatively young ages.

“Combined with my own health problems, this made it extremely hard to remain positive. I’m in a lot of pain and lost my motivation to interact with other people entirely.”

Her husband applied for a personal grant from Engage Mutual as a surprise to pay for some baking and decorating courses for his wife. Now she says the hobby is helping to lift her spirits.

She said: “It really impacts on my state of mind, with many positive benefits, including increased motivation.

“I want to improve my skills and explore my interest further, and without the personal grant, wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do so.

“It means so much to me and has given me a real purpose.”

Engage, which is a customer-owned organisation that provides life and health insurance offers personal grants to customers through the Engage Foundation, which they can apply to for a financial helping hand.

Mrs Read received £500 from the firm to help her get back into baking. The Foundation has set aside £1million for the exclusive benefit for its customers to make their lives and their communities better.

Nigel Hunter, head of community at Engage, said: “Rebecca and Steve have certainly faced a challenging few years and it’s understandable that they have found the circumstances very difficult.

“We’re really pleased to be able to help improve their situation in a small way, and hope that Rebecca’s health will benefit too.”