A cerebral palsy sufferer who dreams of being able to play football hopes an £80,000 fundraising campaign for an operation in the United States will make this a reality.

Malachi Reid can not stand or walk without his walking frame and needs his wheelchair for longer distances.

His condition is getting worse as he gets older so his family and friends are raising money for him to have a selective dorsal rhizotomy operation at the St Louis Children’s Hospital in Missouri.

This will reduce the spasticity in his legs and hopefully enable him to walk unaided.

The 10-year-old said: "I have always wished I could run or even walk unaided around the playground to play football with my friends instead of being the referee in a wheelchair or the boy sitting on the sidelines watching with tears in my eyes and an aching heart."

Fundraising for his operation includes his mother Coleen, 41, and 39 of her friends running the Lexus Croydon 10k in Lloyd Park on Sunday.

Go to justgiving.com/malachisonlywish to donate.