When staff at a Pembroke Dock opticians found out a five-year-old boy was worried about having his eyes tested for the first time, they pulled out all the stops to ensure it was memorable for the right reasons.

A bad experience at a hairdressers shortly beforehand had left Ben, who has autism, terrified of sitting in chairs, similar to the ones found in the store’s eye test rooms.

When Ben’s mother made the appointment, she explained her son’s nervousness.

In a bid to ease his concerns, Natalie Hiorns, manager at Specsavers on Dimond Street, chose the quietest test room in the store and decorated it with colourful balloons, t-shirts, dinosaur paper and even put up a ‘Welcome Ben’ banner.

She also made sure Ben could was tested in a different style of chair to what is usually found in an optician’s test room.

“When I found out he had never had an eye test before, I was adamant to do everything I could to make his experience as positive as possible,” Ms Hiorns says.

Natalie was recognised for her exemplary efforts with a Customer First award, which celebrates great customer service across all of Specsavers’ UK stores.

Store director, Ellie Thomas-Wigley, said: “I’m so proud we have people like Natalie in our team, who take the time to understand people’s needs and give them the best possible care.

“We encourage all families to take their children for regular eye examinations from the age of three, but a child’s eyes won’t be fully developed until the age of eight. During this developmental period, we may be able to correct some eye conditions – as long as they are detected early enough.

“We know that monitoring early eye health is crucial, which is why making Ben’s first visit to an opticians was so important to Natalie.

“She went above and beyond for Ben and the effort she made blew me and his family away.”