Victory at last for BBC man Humphrey Hawksley as he finds care home for son - but why on earth did it take five years?

Sitting at the keyboard, his expression flits between intense concentration and a megawatt grin: Christopher Hawksley is in his element.

The 28-year-old has cerebral palsy, autism, mobility issues and limited speech – but he is also a talented pianist. Now in a new care home with space to practise his craft, Christopher plays for hours. He's even recording an album.

'It's his passion,' explains Christopher's father Humphrey, a former BBC foreign correspondent. 'As soon as he starts playing, his eyes light up. I don't think there can be any doubt: he's happy.

'It's incredible – especially after all the difficulties we've faced.'

These joyful sessions – which mark a victory for The Mail on Sunday's long-running Dignity For Disabled People campaign – would have seemed impossible even a few months ago. For more than five years, like thousands of other disabled people, Christopher was trapped in unsuitable accommodation.

This newspaper first reported in 2019 that he was stuck in a temporary care home only set up to provide basic care.

With hardly any exercise and minimal activities, he would scream and rock backwards and forwards in frustration.

In a heartbreaking interview last year, Christopher's father reflected on the life-support his son needed as a baby and confessed: 'Maybe keeping him alive wasn't the right thing to do after all.'

Finally, however, that gloom has lifted as Christopher now has a permanent home in a new supported living centre called The Hamptons in Peterborough.

He enjoys trips to the charity Beat This which runs music workshops for people with additional needs, and does aqua-therapy at the Kingfisher Centre for people with disabilities. After just three months, Christopher is thriving.

The move has also dispelled his parents' earlier despair. Humphrey, 69, said: 'Things feel very different. Yes, it's been a struggle but it's been worth it.'

Although Christopher's case is heartening, experts say the length of time it took for him to find a permanent home illustrates a broken system.

There are an estimated 1.6million people with complex disabilities in the UK today according to disability charity Sense – meaning they are affected by two conditions such as sight loss, hearing loss, autism or learning disability.

And, in June, a report from the Government body, the Directors of Adult Social Services, showed the number of people with complex needs who, like Christopher, require constant attention from two carers at once, rose by more than seven per cent in a year to nearly 50,000. Worryingly, the same report claimed 90 per cent

of local authorities – which are responsible for housing those who need full-time care – say they can no longer afford to meet their obligation.

As a result, experts say a growing number of vulnerable patients are ending up in unsuitable – even unsafe – housing. 'Too many people are being unlawfully denied care they are entitled to,' says Kari Gerstheimer of the charity Access Social Care.

'Especially patients who are the most expensive to look after, who require lots of skilled staff and equipment. It's a tragedy.'

Christopher – one of triplets – was born more than three months premature in February 1996. His siblings died within a week. He spent weeks on life-support.

He was left with complex disabilities and has required round-the-clock medical assistance since birth. Later he went to Treloar's College in Hampshire, a residential school for disabled youngsters.

Christopher eventually had to leave when he became an adult. His parents identified 57 facilities that might offer him a permanent home. Only two were suitable but neither had space when he needed it.

Instead, in 2019, he was moved to a respite care home – designed for brief stays – an hour and a half from the family's home in west London. Humphrey said: 'It was only supposed to be a few weeks but he ended up staying almost five years.'

Humphrey says the problem does not sit with the local council alone. While the Government funds social care, many areas contract private companies to house and care for the disabled.

'Private companies have the right to refuse someone with an array of needs like Christopher,' says Humphrey.

In 2023, he was contacted by the private firm Magic Life, which runs the centre where Christopher now lives. He was told a room had opened up and Christopher was a suitable candidate.

'Magic Life has been brilliant,' says Humphrey. 'He's getting daily exercise and different people talking to him – stimulation he didn't have before.' He added: 'Without The Mail on Sunday coverage, Christopher wouldn't be where he is now.'