MUMS rallied around to help a five-year-old boy who is one of only ten youngsters in the UK to suffer a rare premature ageing condition.

Thomas Laurie needed a new walking frame and when mum Catherine’s friends found out, they wasted no time in raising £1,000 to pay for it.

A coffee and cake morning in Langford Village, Bicester, saw the money pour in to help Thomas.

Mrs Laurie, of Robins Way, Bicester, said: “Local mums made fantastic cakes and came along and had coffee and cake for £2.

“Glory Farm School gave over £200 — the children had a mini fete as part of the school fete and staff put in as well.”

The generous mums, with the help of Langford Village Hall committee and Glory Farm School, raised enough for the frame.

Thomas has Cockayne syndrome, a genetic premature ageing condition. His life expectancy is about ten years and his condition means his health will deteriorate. He is likely to lose his sight, hearing and the ability to walk and eat.

He recently had a feeding tube put into his stomach to ensure he gets the calories and nutrients he needs.

But he can still eat his favourite foods — chocolate and bananas.

Mrs Laurie, 37, said the family needed a second frame so one could be left at Langford Village School, which Thomas attends.

She said: “I have to carry it to school every day and it’s quite heavy. Thomas has a new buggy and there is no hook on it.”

Dad Richard, a former teacher at Glory Farm School, is assistant headteacher at Hanwell Fields School, Banbury.

Thomas and sister Ellie, eight, are set to star in a film that will be shown in primary schools around the country as part of a Jeans for Genes charity campaign in October.

Mrs Laurie said: “A film maker came to spend the day with us — it was really a video diary. Ellie talks about what it’s like to have a brother who is different. The film shows the ways he is different, but the ways he is the same as other children.”

Ellie said: “I think my brother has a very difficult life. He can’t hear and look very well, so he needs to have some special glasses and a special hearing aid.

“He is a funny little character. He likes to laugh, he likes to cook and likes to ride his bike.”

But she said some older children made fun of him, which she didn’t like.

Ellie said: “It makes me feel really upset and my friends are like ‘grrrr, I want to chop their heads off’.”

To view the film log on at jeansforgenes.com