THE mum of a seven-year-old boy with cerebral palsy has thanked kind-hearted members of the public who raised more than £20,000 for an operation to allow her son to walk.

Our Lady’s Catholic Primary School pupil Leon Hoey had to walk on his tiptoes using a frame due to his condition.

In January last year, his mum Annmarie Dougan issued a plea for help to raise £21,000 for a vital operation that would allow him to walk unaided but was not available on the NHS.

Leon underwent the six-hour surgery on Monday, December 1, and stunned doctors when he was able to walk within two weeks.

Annmarie, from Longford, said: “It’s unbelievable how much of a difference the operation has made because he was really struggling before he had it.

“He now has no pain at all in his legs and he might not need his frame again.

“The first thing he did after the operation was put his knee up to his chest, which he’s never been able to do – it’s the little things like that that make it all worthwhile.

“Leon should only just be starting to sit up now – he shouldn’t be able to walk yet and the physios and the doctors can’t believe how well he’s done.

“They said it should take two years for him to start walking again, but he’s done it in four weeks.”

Fundraising included a £5,000 donation from the Shannon Bradshaw Trust, with Annmarie, Leon and his 10-year-old sister Kelsey Dougan visiting the charity’s base in Penketh on Tuesday, January 2, to say thank you for the help.

Leon was the mascot for Warrington Wolves’ friendly match against Widnes Vikings on Friday, December 29, with the youngsters having ambitions to one day play for the Wire.

He is now planning on completing a sponsored swim for Warrington Disability Partnership alongside Kelsey later this year.

Annmarie added: “I don’t know where he gets the bravery from for everything he’s gone through, but every day he’s had a smile on his face – there have been a couple of days when he didn’t smile which were really hard, but he just bounces back.

“Without the help of everyone in Warrington we couldn’t have done this – it was a hard time and we nearly gave up at one point, but with the help of the Shannon Bradshaw Trust we carried on.

“We had to carry on, because if we didn’t Leon wouldn’t have had his operation.

“The rugby community and the players have been absolutely brilliant – Lee Briers has been on hand for him the whole way through it – and we’ve made some real friends throughout the fundraising experience who we otherwise wouldn’t have known.

“We’ve not done just done it as a family, we’ve had the community behind us with all the people who have donated and helped to raise funds.”