Toddler's waves and smiles from the pavement spark joy for Cleveleys pensioner

Little Layla-Esme Scott was out for a walk with her mum Emma-Kaylan Davies, enjoying their daily exercise in Cleveleys, when she caught the eye of an elderly lady.

Ellen Whitehead, who is 86, was sat in the window of the Morvern Care Centre on South Promenade and spotted the two-year-old waving enthusiastically at her from the pavement outside.

From behind the glass she waved back, they blew kisses to each other, smiled and laughed along and simply sparked a special moment.

Ellen, who is from Fleetwood, has dementia and hasn't seen any members of her family since the coronavirus lockdown began.

And for her family, the tale has heartened them knowing that she has engaged with Layla and, in the absence of her own grandchildren, the toddler will have brought her a much needed boost.

Proud mum Emma-Kaylan, 19, of Nutter Road, said: "Layla waved, shouting hiya and Ellen's face lit up - she waved back and smiled so much.

"Layla carried on waving and she couldn’t stop smiling. I said goodbye and waved and my daughter smiled and waved and said bye bye and started blowing kisses, and the woman did the same.

"She made her so happy. She’s only two, completely unaware of what’s happening and how much a woman like Ellen would have needed this right now. She made someone who will have no visitors at the minute smile and laugh so much!

"If a two-year-old can show this amount of love to a complete stranger without even meeting her, then us, as a community, is so powerful."

Since their socially distanced meeting with Ellen, Emma-Kaylan has been in touch with her daughter Susan Jowitt through social media.

Susan, who lives in Bispham, said: "I saw Emma's post on Facebook about Layla waving to a lady and when I realised she was talking about the Morvern I started crying cause I wondered if it was my mum as she often sits in the window.

"I posted a picture on the Facebook post and Emma recognised her.

"We haven't seen her for weeks and it's such a lovely thing out of all this chaos.

"She hasn't seen her grandchildren but she has seen a little girls' face. It is so sweet to think that she has got her fix, we worry that she can't see us and it will have given her a lift."

And the community spirit hasn't ended there. Layla and her mum have been back since with a picture Layla has coloured in and an Easter Egg, left for Ellen on the step of the care home.

Emma-Kaylan added: She was having her dinner so we couldn’t see her at the window but we hope she liked them, such a beautiful woman."

A spokesperson for the Morvern Care Centre said: "We have given Ellen the Easter Egg and flowers and showed her the picture - she had a great big smile of her face. She would definitely have got some enjoyment out of waving to the little girl."