Shropshire man overcomes reading struggles to land fire service role
Local charity Read Easy Shropshire Hills is using National Trustees Week 3-7 November 2025 to encourage adults who struggle to read to come forward and ask for help.
They are asking people who know of friends and family members who cannot read, to pass on the Read Easy Shropshire Hills phone number, and encourage them to make a call that could transform their lives, as it has done for Shane.
Shane was only three months old when he was rushed to hospital with meningitis where he spent the next six months battling the illness. This difficult start to life naturally had a big impact on Shane who struggled with reading and writing at school.
Despite this difficult start Shane applied himself at his special school, learning valuable practical skills which he has put to good use throughout his life. He left school and learned to be a carer so he could look after his dad who was confined to a wheelchair. He attended a YTS programme and worked with horses – a job he says he really loved. He’s moved around the country to work in factories and on farms, and even serving from a drinks trolley on trains and set up his own garden maintenance business.
Shane really enjoys singing and in 2003 he auditioned for the X Factor, sailing through the initial auditions but made the decision not to go further when he met his wife to be. He married and has a daughter.
Shane moved to Church Stretton in Shropshire in 2020 to care for his elderly mum. She was a big part of his life and her passing hit Shane very hard. He had to turn to his brother for help with anything which needed reading and he realised that he needed to improve his reading skills. The Shropshire Mental Health team were aware of Read Easy Shropshire Hills and they made the initial introduction which set Shane on his amazing reading journey.
Shane has been coached by Marjorie for two years and his reading fluency has improved immeasurably. At the start Shane struggled with many letter sounds and he found long words impossible. Now he confidently reads through all the post he receives and doesn’t need to rely on the help of others.
The start of a new chapter
Shane is a committed volunteer with the local Fire Service but was always told his reading wasn’t good enough for a paid role. He is so motivated to learn that he often turns up at coaching sessions in his uniform after a long night shift! His colleagues at the Fire Service could see how much his reading was improving with Read Easy and the commitment he was putting into learning. Because of this he was invited to apply for the role of a Trainee Fire Prevention Officer and he was blown away when he was offered his dream job. This role involves a lot of reading about fire risks and writing reports. He’s also training to work in fire investigation which involves presenting evidence in court.
Shane is now looking ahead with confidence and planning for the future. He wants to improve his writing skills to help with report writing and he’s thinking of moving to Eastbourne to be
close to his daughter. He said, ‘I really wanted my dream job with the Fire Service and because of Read Easy I’ve got it. I’m as happy as Larry’!”
There are 2.4 million UK adults in 2025 who, like Shane, struggle to read. For them, everyday tasks such as booking a doctor’s appointment, reading road signs or doing the food shopping can be incredibly challenging.
Read Easy Shropshire Hills offers free and confidential, one-to-one coaching, from trained volunteers. Coaches and learners meet twice a week at approved local venues, or online, to work for just half an hour at a time through a structured, phonics-based reading programme.
New Read Easy Shropshire Hills Trustee and Team Leader Abigail Fenton says those who struggle to read should not feel embarrassed about coming forward and asking for help: “There are lots of different reasons why people don’t learn to read in childhood. For some it may have been a lack of support from their own family or school, for others it may have been undiagnosed dyslexia. But people should not feel ashamed or embarrassed about it. We are friendly, welcoming and here to help. As Trustees of a small charity, we know the huge impact that our volunteer Coaches make to the lives of our readers and are incredibly grateful for the important work that they do. In National Trustee Week, we want to celebrate the difference our charity makes to the lives of local people.”
Read Easy Shropshire Hills are also looking for more volunteers in North Shropshire to enable them to help more adults in the area. They are recruiting for a new volunteer Co-ordinator and Coaches.
For more information about learning to read or volunteer with Read Easy Shropshire Hills, please contact Annabel on 07960 865564 or email shropshirehills@readeasy.org.uk or visit readeasy.org.uk/groups/shropshirehills/.
