A FAMILY want to raise £25,000 to help their beloved son who lives with cerebral palsy and dystonia.

David Dempsey, 20, suffered a severe infection when he was one week old resulting in damage to a small part of his brain meaning he has no control of his body and cannot walk or talk.

David, of Manchester Drive, Leigh, also requires daily physiotherapy for his tight muscles and a brain implant to reduce painful spasms he suffers from.

This year, he took part in a trial of Innowalk Pro, an exercise machine specifically designed for people with physical disabilities, after being selected at his specialist college Treloar in Hampshire.

His mum Caron Dempsey, 61, now wants to get David a permanent machine to strengthen his muscles, which costs £25,000.

A fundraising page has been set up which has already raised more than £500.

Caron said: "David is cognitively like any other person, the area of his brain that was affected is very small, so it's only movement he suffers with. He is a truly lovely boy with a wicked sense of humour. He's very sociable, he loves interacting with people and everyone loves him when they meet him. He's a huge fan of Little Mix, and he enjoys playing video games where he brother helps him with the controls.

"It's going to be a very long journey, we can't just sit back and expect it to come to us just because we have a Go Fund Me. We've got lots of fundraiser ideas planned for the future.

"It's doing well so far, to say we're pleased is an understatement. Anything that is given by anyone will help and mean something to David."

David was an identical twin, and also has an older sister.

Charlotte Williams, who has been David's carer since July said: "I have really bonded with him, it's impossible not to really.

"In a couple of weeks' time I'm going to be shaving my head to raise money for it. The machine helped him enormously and it will see positive changes." Visit gofundme.com/f/help-david-walk.