'Sippy-cup-search' dad overjoyed as Tommee Tippee promises 500 new cups for his son with autism

So here's how it happened:

13-year-old Ben Carter, from Devon, who has autism, has been using the same double-handled Tommee Tipee sippy cup since he was a little boy – in fact, it's the only thing he'll drink from.

As his current one, which he's had for about 3 years, is close to falling apart, his dad Marc was anxious to get hold of a replacement – only to find the model's no longer made ?

Undeterred, the loving dad took to Twitter in a bid to try and get hold of another cup just the same – and the response was phenomenal.

Marc's (aka @Grumpy Carer) post got retweeted more than 17,000 times and was liked by more than 5,000 people – and he received hundreds of offers of help.

"I have that exact one my daughter had from being a baby!! Still have it and I can send it to you," said one person.

Another said, "We have a cup like this.... Where are you? Can we send it over?"

And we LOVED this... An ingenious student came up with: "Have access 3D printer in uni if you want us to try that. Would need lots of pics of cup, though. Good luck!"

Twitter to the rescue

The Twitter response was, in fact, so huge that Marc says he now has enough cups to last Ben a while – but he'd still like more, just to avoid ever finding himself in this situation again.

"People say Ben will drink when he's thirsty," Marc says, "but two emergency trips to A&E with severe dehydration say otherwise.

"The reality is Ben is unlikely to change, so I will need these for the rest of his life. That's a lot of cups."

Tommee Tippee comes up trumps

But the best bit is still to come. Having got wind of Marc's sippy-cup hunt, Tommee Tippee, makers of the cup in question, started searching their archives to se if they had any samples they could send on.

They also created a #CupForBen web page to help Marc spread the word further.

And then – WOW! – Tommee Tippee announced they would re-start production of the cup to "ensure Ben has a lifetime supply and his family won’t ever have to worry about finding another one."

Marc was astonished but overjoyed to hear the news. "I would not be happier if I won the lottery," he said.

What a lovely story! Isn't it great to see how social media (and, more importantly, the people who use it) can be totally BRILLIANT ?

Photos: Grumpy Carer on Twitter

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