THE family of an eight-year-old boy suffering with cerebral palsy have thanked groups for donating to their fundraising campaign.

Samuel Hosker, from Blackburn, is set to undergo surgery to prevent him from being wheelchair bound after family and friends raised more than £60,000 to fund the operation not available on the NHS.

Top-End Traders in Blackburn have now donated £4,000 to the family to help Samuel with his after care and rehabilitation after holding a variety of raffles and fundraisers in the shop.

The Blackburn Round Table group have also donated £1,000 to the cause.

Mum Michelle Hosker, 38, has been overwhelmed by the support and generosity of people in the area.

She said:"We appreciate it so much, we can't thank them enough.

“It’s just been absolutely fantastic to have raised so much money.

"Everyone has been so generous to us.

"We wouldn't have been able to do this without them."

Samuel will have spinal dorsal rhizotomy surgery in September at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and will then undergo two years of intensive physiotherapy.