AIDAN Blake is just a few pounds away from being able to play with his friends again.

Now he needs your help.

The 10-year-old from Greater Leys has cerebral palsy, and when he was just two years old his parents were told he would never walk or go to mainstream school.

Thanks to the help of a special trike, parents Donna and Karl Blake said their son has achieved those things and more.

The couple from Greater Leys, who have 10 children, said by using the specially weighted and adapted trike, each day their son has strengthened his muscles enough to be able to walk with a special frame and gain some of the independence his contemporaries take for granted.

But the Orchard Meadow School pupil has outgrown the trike, and a new machine would cost them almost £3,000.

Donna said: “We first realised Aidan had cerebral palsy when he was about two.

“He couldn’t sit up by himself and just wasn’t doing things that the other children had done.

“When the doctors diagnosed him they told us he would never walk, he would never be able to go to the toilet on his own, and would always be in his wheelchair.

“Thanks to the trike he has achieved all that.”

Mr and Mrs Blake have managed to get most of the money for the new trike with a grant from the Caudwell Children charity. Now they say they are at a loss to know how to raise the remaining £440.

They have appealed to Oxford Mail readers to come up with ideas or donations so their child can continue to lead as normal a life as possible.

She said: “The trike has granted Aidan his little bit of independence, something that other children don’t realise they have.

“Until you’re in this position yourself you don’t realise how much these things mean or can help.

“But this isn’t an ordinary £100 bike, this is the same price as a car, and we just can’t afford it.”

Aidan’s teaching assistant Mireille Howard, added: “I’ve watched Aidan change from a little boy who used to say ‘I can’t’ into a child with so much confidence in himself.

“He now says ‘I am Aidan Blake and I can do anything if I keep trying, so bring it on.’ “This bike will do wonders for his physiotherapy and muscle strengthening.”

* If you would like to help Aidan and his parents buy a new trike, which would last him until adulthood, contact reporter Amanda Williams on 01865 425426 or by email at the address above.