Youngster hits fundraising target for Shropshire hospitals thanks to Bridgnorth charity

Tom McIntyre started raising money for two hospital trusts last summer, and after a number of successful events which saw him compete with Paralympians and heroes from the Invictus Games, a £400 gift from the Bridgnorth Lions now means his goal has been met.

The eight-year-old from Bourton, near Much Wenlock, smashed his challenge at the Superhero Tri, the UK's only disability sports series, in August 2019 alongside the team that won a gold medal in the 2018 Winter Paralympics.

He then took part in Celebrity Winter Wheels with Invictus Games hero Dave Henson, where he took to the track to run 1k alongside Mr Henson in the celebrity lakeside dash, partnered by his father James, before taking on a 5k bike challenge partnered by his mother Caroline.

Tom was born with a rare condition called proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD) which means that his right femur is not growing correctly.

At the age of one he had his foot and ankle amputated to enable him to have a prosthetic fitted. and when he was four he had part of his femur removed and his hip reconstructed.

Tom set himself the target of raising £500 for The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) End of Life Care Swan Fund in memory of his grandfather, and £500 for The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, where he had all his treatment and operations.

Tom's mother, Caroline, who works at SaTH, which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, said: “I am so proud of him raising all this money and so many people have been so generous.

"I want to say a big thank you to them all. Tom has been really keen to reach the target and was even given a very generous donation by his fantastic dentist in Much Wenlock.”

Tom said that he is continuing his fundraising journey, aiming to add his school, Much Wenlock Primary, to the donation list.