A TERMINALLY ill boy was granted his ultimate festive wish when he was allowed home from hospital for Christmas day.

Naveed Hafeez, aged 12, spent the day at home in Crescent Road, Marland, with his parents Heena and Hafeez after weeks of uncertainty about whether or not he would be able to come home.

The youngster has been a patient at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Pendlebury, for almost a year with incurable heart and lung conditions.

After finding out nothing more can be done to help Naveed, his parents became determined to make sure they would all be at home for what is expected to be their last Christmas together.

First they had to wait for Rochdale Boroughwide Housing to complete vital work to make their home fit for Naveed to come back to.

All upstairs floorboards had to be replaced to get rid of a pungent smell which began to affect the top floor when central heating was installed.

The family, who don’t have pets, were horrified when workmen investigated and uncovered cat litter, remnants of animal faeces and food and insect shells in the cavity under the floor and floorboards stained with pet urine.

Work was completed just in time and the family were given the OK by the hospital to bring Naveed home for the day.

Dad Hafeez said: "We found out at the last minute on Christmas eve that he was OK to come home.

"It was hard, but worth it just to get him home.

"He had a brilliant day, he turned the television up loud because he can’t do that on the ward and made an absolute racket. Family came over throughout the day, too. He loved it, it was fantastic."

Naveed’s parents say they are still frustrated that the work to modernise their home, to bring it up to the same standard as other RBH homes in the area, wasn’t done three years ago when they first moved in.

They are especially upset about having to be at the house when they could be spending quality time with their son.

Hafeez added: "Trying to bring a sick child home is a very lengthy process in itself.

"Nav can only come home during the day at the moment. We want to bring him home for good, but we can’t risk having him home if it’s going to be cold in the middle of the night.

"It’s still a struggle to keep the heat in because the doors and windows just aren’t adequate. We feel like it took Naveed to be ill to get something done."

Work is expected to start to replace the doors and windows later this year.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing confirmed work to install the central heating was brought forward a year and pledged to continue working with the family to ensure it meets their needs.