CYCLISTS will be riding 52 miles in a day to raise money for a young boy with cerebral palsy.

A group of more than ten bikers from Wickford will be riding from London to Southend on July 14 to raise funds for Oscar Griffiths, five, of Athelstan Gardens, Wickford, who lives with quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

He had a difficult start in life, requiring an emergency caesarean and is now unable to swallow, cannot sit unaided and is prone to seizures.

Neighbour David Webber, 54, a former police officer, decided to organise the challenge with Oscar’s grandfather Gary Griffiths, to raise money to help Oscars parents Caroline, 32, and Paul, 40, get him intensive treatment in Florida, USA, to treat injuries to his brain to improve his life.

Caroline said: “It’s inspirational really to see so many wanting to do such much good for Oscar.

“The great thing about it is that despite his conditions he’s such a happy boy around people.

“We get people approaching us all the time about projects and fundraisers.

“Everyone around here knows him, he’s like a little celebrity.

“Dave really has worked so hard to get this team together for this ride, and with things like this it really does bring the community together.

“Paul and I are getting married soon, so we’ve not had loads of time to fundraise ourselves, but previously we’ve done lots of different events and appeals to get the money to help Oscar.

“It’s so nice all these guys are clubbing together to do this ride for him.”

Dave Webber said: “This inspirational boy goes from strength to strength, is learning to communicate and really enjoys his specialist school where he enjoys swimming, trampolining and causing as much trouble as possible like any five-year-old should.”

To donate, visit bit.ly/2YZbwOT.