Rushden boy with rare condition gets all-terrain wheelchair

Albert loves his new all-terrain wheelchair.

A boy with a rare muscle-wasting condition has taken delivery of an "absolutely amazing" all-terrain wheelchair after a fundraising campaign.

Albert from Rushden in Northamptonshire helped raise money himself by climbing Yr Wyddfa, or Snowdon in Wales with the former Wasps player, Jack Fleckney.

He was diagnosed with the genetic condition, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), at the age of three.

Albert, eight, is now unable to walk.

People with DMD get gradually weaker and their muscles degenerate - their mobility starts decreasing in early childhood and continues to get worse.

'Gamechanger'

As time went on, it became clear that the limitations of Albert's NHS electric wheelchair meant that he was missing out on opportunities.

His mum, Sonia, said: "Going to the seaside has been tricky.

"His dad can carry him across the sand but it's not always easy to walk on sand yourself, let alone carry an eight-year-old.

"Being able to take this on the beach will be a game-changer."

The former Wasps player, Jack Fleckney, took Albert up Snowden to raise money for the new wheelchair

The family needed £16,000 to buy the new all-terrain wheelchair.

Former Wasps rugby player Fleckney volunteered to push and steer Albert and his existing chair up Yr Wyddfa as part of the fundraising effort.

He had met Albert at Denfield Park Primary School while he was helping with PE lessons.

Albert's mum, Sonia, says the new chair is "going to be brilliant"

More than 80 people, including Albert's family and friends, joined the climb to the summit which took about four hours on June 3.

Sonia said the new chair was "like a little quad bike".

"He's in control of it but on the back it's got assistance so we can take control if we need to, which he doesn't like very much.

"It rises as well which will be really handy for days out like going to the zoo - it was quite awkward for him to see everything, because of people getting in the way, whereas with this he'll be able to just rise himself up."

Albert told BBC Radio Northampton: "It's absolutely amazing. It lets me drive fast and have fun."