North East kids swim with dolphins on Dreamflight Orlando trip

Gateshead lad Freddy Gardiner and Jojo Craig from Berwick are among 191 youngsters from around the UK, many of whom had never been abroad or been away from their families, who were flown on a free trip to Orlando by charity Dreamflight.

On their penultimate trip at SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove, they got the chance to swim with dolphins.

Freddy Gardiner previously said the opportunity was the part of the trip he was most looking forward to.

The 12-year-old said: “The dolphins were really good, I got to hold on to one of their fins, which was cool.

Children watching a dolphin dance. (Image: PA) “They’re much faster than I thought.

“I’ve loved the rollercoasters, some of them were really big.

“I instantly made friends on this trip.”

Some youngsters were lifted from their wheelchairs and into the water to get close to them.

The children were also taken to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Universal Studios.

The flight pushing back at Heathrow last week. (Image: BRITISH AIRWAYS) They were picked to join the holiday after living with serious illness, disability or trauma.

Jojo Craig, 10, from Berwick, said: “We got to pet the dolphins and see them do tricks, I loved it, I found it amazing.

“They felt like rubber.

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“The trip has been crazy, I can’t really explain it, I’ve made so many friends.”

Each year the charity takes more than 190 kids on a 10-day parent-free trip to Orlando with teams of volunteer doctors, nurses and more to look after the sick and ill youngsters. It gives them the chance to make new friends and realise they aren’t alone in their health battles.

It needs to raise £1m a year to run the trip with British Airways chartering a plane to Florida.