Disabled patients at Oxford Children's Hospital will benefit from a new toy library, thanks to a mother whose son was born with severe learning difficulties.

Sandra Gomme has raised £5,000 to help the community paediatrics department set up a specialist toy library, which has been named after her son Sacha, who is now 22.

Mrs Gomme and Sacha joined staff at the hospital, in Headington, for the official opening of the library on Wednesday.

The 62-year-old, who lives near Princes Risborough, in Buckinghamshire, said: "I was born in Oxfordshire and I knew the children's hospital needed help, so I got in touch.

"Sacha has severe learning difficulties and curvature of the spine and was only 2lb when he was born in the special care baby unit, where we had fantastic treatment.

"I wanted to fundraise for the children's hospital to say 'thank you'. The staff and the hospital are marvellous.

"I raised the money through quiz nights, raffles and with stalls at different fetes around the villages."

Play specialist Mary Wiggins said: "We needed a large donation to buy specialist toys, particularly designed for children with special needs. They are mostly made of wood.

"At first, the library will be open once a month and available for families who have attended a multi-disciplinary assessment.

"In future, we hope to be able to extend the toys to all children with disabilities.

"We couldn't have done this without Sandra's generous donation and she has also offered to add another toy to our library in the near future."

The toy library is suitable for children with disabilities aged five or under.

It is well stocked with toys that can be borrowed for up to two months at a time for a small fee.

Toys have been chosen to stimulate sensory development and feature sounds, colourful lights, tactile surfaces and vibrations.

Andrew House, head of major gifts for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Specialist sensory toys are expensive and this is a great scheme to assist families.

"Sandra's fundraising has provided a wonderful collection of fun toys that lots of children will be able to enjoy."

The library cost £2,000 to stock and the rest of the money will go towards the purchase of sensory equipment for the department's waiting room and corridors.

Children are encouraged to touch and interact with these fun pieces, which include mirrors and a tactile wall mural with fibre-optic switches so that youngsters can control the lighting.