Tommee Tippee make 500 'little blue cups' to save an autistic boy's life
They stopped manufacturing them over a decade ago.
Last updated 24th Jan 2017
The father of an autistic boy took to Twitter to ask for help and the response was beyond anything he could have imagined.
14-year-old Ben has severe autism and has only drunk out of the same type of little blue cup since the age of two. However, his current cup is coming to the end of its life. The cup in question is no longer manufactured, so finding a replacement was proving hard for his dad.
His father and carer Marc (known as ©GrumpyCarer on Twitter), tried to give Ben a different cup, but he refused to use it and in the past he has been hospitalised twice with acute dehydration. So as you can imagine, Marc was desperate to get a replacement cup.
The 42-year-old from Devon tweeted photos of the cup, asking the public to help him source one.
People from all over the world got in touch with Marc, offering to send their cups. He was overwhelmed by the support, but his plea took an unexpected turn when the manufacturer Tommee Tippee called him.
After a lot of searching, the cup manufacturer found the mould for the exact cup Marc was looking for! It was in a factory in China and hadn't been used for over a decade, so they had to check it was 'food-safe'. The company said they would manufacture as many cups as Marc and Ben needed. They originally suggested 1000, but they agreed later on 500.
Tommee Tippee, who are based in Cramlington, Northumberland said in a statement, "Starting the production of a cup that hasn’t been manufactured for almost two decades isn’t a straightforward process, but we’re thrilled to confirm that we’re able to do it.
"Production will start on 500 cups for Ben this week and will delivered to his dad, Marc, early in the New Year."
Ben celebrated his 14th birthday on 19th November and received some presents from Tommee Tippee.
Hats off to the guys and girls at Tommee Tippee!