A DOTING dad who supported Skye Hall and watched his own daughter battle a neurological condition knows first hand how his sponsorship will help county children.

Nick Streeter, from Witney, is raising cash for Blue Skye Thinking, set up to fund research into alternative cancer treatment, and SpecialEffect, which adapts computer games for people with disabilities.

Five-year-old Skye, from Abingdon, died last August after battling a brain tumour for a year, but he passed away from radio-chemo neurotoxicity.

His parents set up Blue Skye Thinking to fund research into alternative cancer treatments for children.

A fundraiser for SpecialEffect, Mr Streeter worked with Skye during the last few months of his life, when the charity provided an eye co-ordinated game for him to play.

Married dad-of-one Mr Streeter’s own daughter Chloe Streeter, who has a neurological condition, has also benefited from SpecialEffect’s work.

Mr Streeter said the seven-year-old “shows a lot of heart” despite her condition.

He added: “SpecialEffect takes my daughter to play video games and she is a funny little girl with a lovely sense of humour.

“We get on really well and she shows a lot of heart.

“I will be using Skye as motivation for this. When I get to the 20-mile mark I will be using Skye, my daughter and all the other children at SpecialEffect to get to the finish line.

“I first knew Chloe had a neurological condition when she was one-and-a-half years old. Her development was not the same as other children and she had to have medication and a walking frame.

“But she loves school now because she loves learning and I am a very proud parent.”

His relationship with the Hall family began when Sally and Andrew Hall took Skye to SpecialEffect, where he enjoyed playing eye co-ordinated video games.

Mr Streeter added: “I met Skye and he was an inspirational little guy when he came to visit and I think everyone at Special Effect, and Oxfordshire for that matter, was taken aback by how brave he was.

“I had met Andrew two years before the death because his rugby team had SpecialEffect as their logo and I got on really well with him. They are a lovely family.

“When I found out Skye’s family had started a charity in his name, I was moved to want to support it.

“So I decided to use my place in this year’s London Marathon to raise money for both, which will hopefully make a big difference to these two small charities.

“This is my second marathon and I can’t wait to get this one over with and enjoy a few pints of Guinness afterwards.”

Mrs Hall said: “Towards the end of his life Skye had lost all movement in his arms and hands so being able to play video games using computerised eye gaze technology and a click button at SpecialEffect was great fun for him.

“We are so grateful to Nick for choosing our charity to run for.”

To help Mr Streeter reach his goal of £2,000 visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NickStreeter