Dementia care specialists in Sidmouth have become the first in the country to be recognised with a prestigious qualification.

Home Instead Senior Care looks after elderly people within their own homes, and its training programme has been accredited by City and Guilds.

The staff use tried and tested strategies to keep people suffering with dementia in their own homes for longer than might otherwise be possible.

Vanessa McGlade, a director from Home Instead, said: “Rather than impressing our world and its reality upon someone suffering dementia we meet them in the past.

“Using these evidence based techniques we see a reduction in many of the unwanted behaviours associated with dementia, anxiety and depression.”

Home Instead director Mark McGlade said an ageing population means the number of people with dementia will only increase.

He estimates the number already stands at eight per cent of all over-65s, equivalent to 520 people in Sidmouth – a number expected to double in the next 20 years.

Caregiver Pam Gardiner said: “The training has given me a far better understanding of dementia and how it affects people’s lives.

“It has helped me to have the empathy to understand the person and to deal with and manage difficult situations with increasing dignity and respect.”