THREE-year-old Harry Kirkman was given a present he will never forget after he received a cheque for £20,000 towards a life-changing operation in America which will improve his ability to walk.

The money was a gift from Angela and Trevor Norris, who employ Harry’s dad Matt at TG Norris Engineers in Melksham, and it has brought the family two-thirds of the way towards their £60k target.

Harry’s mum Charlotte Deegan said she was given renewed hope at Christmas thanks to the Wiltshire Times, who united her with the Chorley family whose daughter Nicole had the same operation to help relieve the spasticity caused by cerebral palsyNow, she feels confident that the operation is finally in sight.

“They have given us Christmas presents before but nothing like that. A couple of days before they gave us a card and said don’t open it until you sit down for Christmas dinner. We thought it was a cheque or something but no way did we ever think it would be the amount it was,” the mum-of-two added.

“The donation has given us the ability to move forward and think about the operation itself which we now have enough money for. We just need to raise the rest which will pay for us to get there and back as well as the physio afterwards which is really important to his recovery.

“It didn’t sink in for a few days really and then it just hit me that we were more than half-way there.”

This week Mr and Mrs Norris said they have known Mr Kirkman since he was 14 and regard him as one of the family, so they both agreed that the cheque was the perfect gift.

Mr Norris, 60, who has three children, said: “We look on him as a son. Obviously I have known that Matt has been trying to raise this money and I thought I would donate some of it as a Christmas present to them.

“It’s a struggle and little Harry has been coming up here for years. Things are looking up and this operation can hopefully make things a lot easier for him.”

“It is nice to know that giving this extra money will help them and we still want other people to get involved to help them reach their target.”

The money Harry needs will pay for Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy treatment at St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri, not currently available in the UK on the NHS, which will reduce the spasticity in his legs, giving him the best chance to walk unaided. Within days of being born, Harry survived meningitis which affected his leg muscles and left him with cerebral palsy.

With five months to go until they need to reach £60,000 Miss Deegan said she is now more hopeful they will get there after the family managed to raise another £530 over the festive period with family members putting money from Christmas presents towards the operation.

To donate, text HARY91 and an amount to 70070 or visit www.justgiving.com/helping-harry