Lake District Calvert Trust fundraiser Oliver Voysey tops £178,000

The centre enabled Oliver Voysey to canoe, abseil and rock climb

A boy with a severe brain injury has raised an "overwhelming" £178,000 for the charity that changed his life.

Oliver Voysey completed a series of challenges in the run-up to his 13th birthday in aid of the Lake District's Calvert Trust outdoor activity centre.

It is facing closure after losing more than £1m due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Oliver's mum, Sarah, said the family was amazed by the success of the appeal, which had an original target of £25,000.

The youngster requires specialist care having suffered a brain injury when he was two days old which left him with sight loss, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism and learning difficulties.

The centre helps children and adults with disabilities and the Voysey family, including dad Gary and Oliver's sister Elizabeth, regularly travelled from their Newcastle home to visit.

Oliver's themed fundraising efforts included walking on a treadmill for 13 minutes, standing independently for 13 seconds, and completing a 13-minute walk.

Resultantly, an online fundraising page raised more than £78,000 with a further £108,000 coming from offline donations - including an anonymous one-off payment of £100,000.

Mum Sarah says the visits provide an opportunity to enjoy activities as a family

Mrs Voysey said: "It's overwhelming. It hasn't sunk in yet. Let's keep going with it and see how far we can get.

"The big financial donations will have a huge impact on the Calvert Trust, but what has had a huge impact on us are the messages people have sent.

"It has been really emotional and we have had so many phone calls from people saying 'thanks'.

"It's the only place we can go as a family where we can all do the same activity. Gary and I can really be parents there and not carers because the instructors help out supporting Oliver."

In the run-up to Oliver's birthday on 30 January, the family completed a number of challenges and he celebrated his big day with a 13-layer chocolate cake.

The Calvert Trust said it was "immensely grateful", adding: "The support we are receiving is nothing short of incredible."

Dad Gary and sister Elizabeth are also big fans of the trust