Exotic butterflies can now fly in Hanwell after North Ealing MP Stephen Pound opened the new butterfly house at Brent Lodge Animal Centre on Thursday.

Mr Pound opened the £7000 addition to the centre in front of a crowd of 70 adults and children, who then had the opportunity to experience the Butterfly House, which re-creates the tropical atmosphere of its inhabitants’ natural habitats.

The Butterfly House includes species including the iridescent and large Blue Morpho from Central America, the Lime Swallowtail from the Middle East and South Asia, and the Postman Butterfly from South America.

The Butterfly House was funded by the European Social Fund through Accession Social Enterprise, which attempts to provide training, volunteering and employment opportunities for adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities or mental health conditions.

Many of the service users from the Stirling Road Day Care Centre, West London Mental Health Trust, and Learning Curve have been working at the centre for a year and a half, including on the Butterfly House, but had previously been limited to back room roles.

Jim Gregory, manager of the Brent Lodge Animal Centre, said the Butterfly Centre allowed these workers to get the recognition they deserved.

"It gives them structure and allows people to say thank you all of their hard work," he said.

Mr Pound also praised the work of the Brent Lodge Animal Centre and the project’s integration of people with disabilities.

"It is another really exciting initiative from Brent Lodge Animal Centre, where nothing seems to stand still, least of all the butterflies," he said.

"I met a few of the people with learning disabilities working there and they seemed utterly devoted to the Butterfly House and seemed energised and empowered by their work."

Zoe Sellers, Business Development Manager at Accession Social Enterprise, said: "It is about providing opportunities for people who had been stuck inside a day centre and giving them the dignity of real work."

Mr Gregory also said the Butterfly House offered a unique educational opportunity, as pupils can walk among the butterflies in their natural environment and he had already received a lot of interest from schools.

"It’s fantastic we have something as good as the larger zoos, if on a smaller scale," he said.

"The immersive side is really important because with all the other animals there is some sort of barrier between them and the visitors."

Carolyn Brown, Chair of the Hanwell Community Forum, was at the opening said she was pleased to see money being spent on such a worthwhile cause in the area.

She said: "Following the recent Mayor's Priority Parks win for Brent River Park, we are delighted that the Animal Centre is seeing investment after many years of neglect and it is doubly terrific that this additional funding has been sourced for such an invaluable attraction."