PLANS to set up a trust fund in Worcester to help Ali Ismaeel Abbas, the boy who lost both arms during the war in Iraq, have been dropped.

Dave Gillespie, from Warndon, who came up with idea for the people in Worcestershire to express their sympathy for the 13-year-old, said he was very disappointed, but he was still encouraging people to support the Limbless Association.

"The association said the trust fund had to be set up as a registered charity," said Mr Gillespie, who is a mental health nurse at Newtown Hospital.

"But as a registered nurse working for a PhD it was just too much for me to handle.

"I would like to apologise to the people of Worcestershire but still encourage them to make contributions in their own ways," he added.

Mr Gillespie, aged 42, made the decision to set up the trust fund after being moved by the plight of 13-year-old Ali, who lost both arms and his family in a missile attack on his home in Baghdad two months ago.

Ali, who became a symbol for suffering in the war-scarred country, is now receiving treatment in Kuwait.