A BRAVE Kidderm-inster youngster is looking forward to his "new life" thanks to the purchase of a special bike made possible by the generosity of Wyre Forest people.

Ben Higgins, who suffers from spastic diplegia - a form of cerebral palsy - has hardly been off the £1,000 tricycle since it was delivered to his home on Friday.

The brain-injured three-year-old, who undergoes two hours of physiotherapy every day to help strengthen his legs, will now be able to play outside with his six-year-old sister, Chloe, and friends while exercising as he pedals.

Parents, Rachel Lewis and Leslie Higgins, started fund-raising just under a year ago by placing donation buckets explaining their son's story in pubs around the town.

Regulars at the Red Man, where Miss Lewis worked for 10 years before leaving to look after Ben full time, the Railway Bell, Coopers Arms and the Peacock have all boosted the appeal coffers.

Help has also come from members of Little Lakes Golf Club, customers at shops near to the family's Canterbury Road home and former neighbours, John and Jess Turvey, who collected their copper coins and raised £80.

The couple said they had been staggered by the "amazing" response, which started with a £250 donation from Kidderm-inster and District Lions Club.

Miss Lewis said: "We just want to say a huge thank you to everyone that helped because this bike will just change his life. When we took the pots around we thought it would take forever to raise the money. It has just been fantastic.

"I just cried my eyes out on Friday when he first got on it because he turned around and said 'look mommy I can play like the big boys'.

"It will help him be a normal little boy. Before he got the bike he found it hard to keep up with other children because he could only crawl on the floor. Hopefully, the exercise will help him be able to walk one day. That is the ultimate goal."

Football-mad Ben is expected to outgrow the bike by the time he is eight but his family plan to give it to the Lions club so it can be used by another youngster suffering similar problems.