Thatcham boy Jake gets his dream wheels

People in the Thatcham community and beyond have helped Helen Parsons, aged 37, of Matthews Close, raise more than £2,000 to buy the specially-designed bicycle for her son Jake, which will help him learn how to walk.
Jake was born prematurely, at just under 27 weeks, with cerebral palsy – a condition which has left the six-year-old unable to walk or look after himself.
Ms Parsons started her fundraising campaign in the first week of February, and Jake took delivery of his new bike last Wednesday, and he has been desperate to use it ever since.
Ms Parsons said: “It’s brilliant, he loves it.
“I’m quite amazed that he can already ride it himself for a short distance. The guy who gave the tutorial estimated that it could take about a month for him to just start steering.
“He sometimes forgets to steer though, so his brother is taking the brunt of it at the moment.”
Fundraising efforts included a pool tournament, which raised more than £4,000 (which has also helped fund another girl’s bike), £700 from a quiz at the Spotted Dog pub at Cold Ash, a CaniX (run with a dog attached to you) event at Stonehenge, plus personal donations.
Ms Parsons said: “Without people doing this he would not have his bike – it just would not have been possible. I cannot believe the generosity – even people who don’t know him have donated. For them to do something for somebody they don’t know, it’s amazing – it really restores your faith in the population.”
Ms Parsons said that she hoped this would start Jake on his long process towards being able to walk. “Once he starts to build up the muscle he can start to bear weight. Without his bike it would not have been possible.
“At the moment he has such little muscle that he cannot hold his own weight so it’s going to be a long process.
“Once he can stand, then it’s taking the steps. Hopefully he’ll be up and off one of these days.”
She added: “It’s fantastic. The smile on his face when it arrived, that just said it all. He could not stop talking about it.
“He absolutely loves it.”