Coronavirus: Bristol boy inspired by Captain Tom wins PM award

A six-year-old boy with spina bifida who raised £280,000 for the NHS has won an award from the Prime Minister.

Frank Mills, from Bristol, only learned to walk 18 months ago but managed to walk 10 metres a day with his frame.

He was hoping to raise £99 to match Captain Tom Moore's age but has raised nearly 3,000 times that.

Awarding Frank the Prime Minister's daily Point of Light, Boris Johnson said he was as "brave and brilliant" as Captain Tom.

"Every day I say thank you to someone in our country for doing something special," Mr Johnson said.

"And today I want to say thank you to you. Your daily walks are an amazing fundraising feat.

"Well done and thank you for all you have achieved for our wonderful NHS."

Frank has taken inspiration from Captain Tom Moore

Reacting to the announcement, the Mills family said the "thanks really should go to all those who made it happen".

"What started as a very simple, spur of the moment response to seeing Captain Tom Moore do his fundraising walk, has become an incredible amount of money raised for an excellent charity," they said.

"As a family we've been utterly overwhelmed not only by the amount of money given but by the lovely messages of support and encouragement."

Frank's response was simply: "Cool!"

As well as having spina bifida - a condition where a baby's spine does not develop properly in the womb - Frank was also born prematurely at 25 weeks.

He has received care from both Southmead Hospital and the Bristol Children's Hospital and wanted to raise the money as a thank you to the NHS.

The money will go to NHS Charities Together - an umbrella organisation that supports health service charities.

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