Hundreds of mums living at Colten Care homes enjoyed much-deserved recognition and pampering on Mother’s Day.

The annual celebration of motherhood saw staff lay on afternoon tea, deliver gifts, fresh flowers, bubbly and cake, and co-ordinate livestreamed music.

As the day followed the recent relaxation of visiting rules at care homes, there were also emotional reunions involving family members.

At Colten’s Outstanding-rated New Milton home, Kingfishers, resident Val Collinge was overjoyed to see her daughter Sue Bailey face to face once again.

Val said: “Before lockdown, Sue used to come and see me every week. It’s been hard without that. It’s not quite the same to communicate remotely. Just being able to hold her hand again was so beautiful. We had a few tears but it made me really happy.”

Marion Shearer, who lives at Court Lodge in Lymington, said: “What the staff laid on, with decorations, music, gifts and a high tea, made every mother in the building feel special. It was such a nice day with a great atmosphere. It got us all up and dancing. Even with social distancing, it helped us forget all about the pandemic. Well done ‘Team Court Lodge’ for making my Mothering Sunday so wonderful.”

If relatives were not able to visit on Mother’s Day, they were encouraged to send in personalised video messages which were played to their loved ones as a surprise.

Some Colten homes, including Outstanding-rated Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst, gave mothers tailored bags of treats such as their favourite magazines and chocolate.

At Colten’s art deco-themed Bourne View home in Poole, staff liaised with relatives in advance of Mother’s Day to gather photos from their mothers’ younger days.

“We had great fun guessing who was in the pictures,” said Home Manager Helen Lacey. “Seeing the photos brought back lots of memories for the mums among our residents. It was a great day all round.”