Nine-year-old balloon modeller Caspar raises funds to support fight against Ebola

Caspar Clyde, from Darlington, decided to raise money for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ebola crisis appeal after hearing how the virus had claimed the lives of nearby 5,000 people in West Africa.

The nine-year-old braved chilly conditions to create and sell dozens of balloon animals, flowers and swords to punters at a firework evening at Elm Ridge Methodist Church, in Darlington, last week.

His creations – which cost £1 each - proved to be so popular that he returned to the church just days later to sell more, and has so far raised more than £40.

The Mowden Junior School pupil, who is also a member of the 12th Darlington Scout Group, said: “I was thinking about Ebola and that it is such a big crisis.

“I thought maybe I could do that (balloon modelling) to help and that it would be a good deed.

“I wanted to try and help end Ebola, and even a little bit of money could help.”

Caspar learnt the art of balloon modelling while he was in hospital last year after contracting the potentially deadly superbug, MRSA.

After a gruelling week of antibiotics failed to kill the bug, the youngster spent almost two weeks in isolation at Darlington Memorial Hospital, where his mother gave him a balloon modelling kit to pass the time.

“I was really bored, even with all the computer games that I would normally love to play,” he said.

“I enjoyed doing it and like how easy it is to make something out of something so cheap.”

His father, Iain, who is also the leader of Caspar’s scout group, said he was extremely proud of his son.

“It is all his own doing and the fact that he has shown so much compassion for what these people are going through is so nice,” he added.

“He wanted to do something to help, and at the forefront of my mind I thought maybe it is because he has some sort of an understanding after what he went through."

Caspar said he would like to continue selling balloon models until the Ebola crisis came to an end.