THE family of a two-year-old boy with severe mobility problems are trying to raise £50,000 to send him abroad for a life-changing operation.

When he was nine months old, Finley Hope was diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, a condition that causes severe stiffening in his legs and feet, meaning he cannot walk or crawl unaided.

His parents, Peter and Gemma Hope, have launched the Finding Hope campaign, to send him to the US for an operation that would cure his condition and hopefully lead to him being able to live a fully mobile life.

Mrs Hope, a 31-year-old nurse, said they hoped to send him to St Louis for the operation in February.

She said: “The sooner it can be done the better, because the longer he is stiffening for, the worse it will be for his skeleton and development.”

Mr Hope, 33, said the operation will involve doctors severing the nerves in his spinal column that are sending false signals to his brain which, in turn, leads to his limbs stiffening uncontrollably.

Mr Hope, who will take part in the Great North Run on Sunday with four friends for the campaign, said: “The operation has had a 100 per cent success rate in terms of ending the problem, but Finley will then have to undergo extensive physiotherapy to ensure he has full movement and builds up strength.

“It will be a long time before he is completely better, if he indeed gets to that point, but we do not have any choice because we want to give him the best possible chance we can.

“If we do nothing, it will get worse. If we do something, we can stop that happening and also hopefully radically improve it.”

The family from Willington, County Durham, have organised a series of events and have already raised more than £15,000. The next event will be a night of music and entertainment at Meadowfield Workingmen’s Club from 7pm on Friday, September 28. Tickets are £5, from gemma@findinghope.org.uk

The Olympian Gym, in Sunderland, is planning to hold a white collar boxing event in November and is appealing for people to take part.

To donate, visit justgiving.com/findinghope50