The family of a youngster from Penryn, who has been left virtually house-bound because his wheelchair is too heavy for his mum to push, are hoping the community will help raise the money needed to buy a power pack.

Xander Thomas, aged nine, and his mum, Sharon, find the hilly terrain around their home a real challenge which means he is not able to get out as much as he'd like.

Although Xander has a wheelchair, it is simply too heavy especially as his mum suffers from a back condition. The weight, plus Sharon's condition, make it impossible for her to push Xander up the hills that surround their home. Without the power pack, Xander is effectively trapped indoors.

Sharon said: “I just can’t take him out anywhere and I feel bad because it’s too much for me to manage on my own. The isolation is damaging for both of us and we really feel that Xander would benefit from being able to get out more.

"We used to do a lot of walking together as a family but these days we don’t because it is too much of a struggle with Xander’s wheelchair.”

Xander is the only child in the UK to be diagnosed with his condition, which is a collagen binding gene disorder. The youngster is sight and hearing impaired and has sensory seizures. Being outside can trigger a seizure at any time, so it is essential that Xander has his wheelchair with him at all times.

His parents asked local statutory services for help but were told that a power pack wasn’t something they would fund, so the family turned to Newlife, the Charity for Disabled Children. The charity has taken on their cause and want to help Xander, but needs to raise £821 to make this happen.

Stephen Morgan, head of operations at Newlife said: “We are calling on companies, groups and individuals locally, to be a hero and donate to help Xander get the equipment he needs to improve his quality of life and help his family too.”

If you can help Xander, or other disabled or terminally ill children in Cornwall, go to newlife.co.uk/cornwall or email local@newlifecharity.co.uk. Telephone donations can be made by calling 01543 462777.

Right now, Newlife has four disabled and terminally ill children in Cornwall in need of specialist equipment and must raise £8,277 to help them. The charity has already supported 112 children across the county and any money raised over the amount needed to help Xander will be used to help other children in Cornwall.

Stephen added: “We have dozens of applications every day and while we want to help as many children as we can, we do need help to do this. That is why we are appealing to local people from Cornwall to help Xander.”