A MOTHER from Wotton raising funds for her disabled seven-year-old son was thrilled when an old school friend helped out by completing a sponsored bike ride.

Eloise Cole-Newton and David Newton’s son Raphael has severe cerebral palsy, a disability that renders him unable to walk, talk, crawl or even sit.

A friend from Eloise’s days as a student at Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School, Robert Padfield, recently contacted the family offering support, and subsequently completed a 150 mile bike ride to help raise money for Tree of Hope, a charity which supports Raphael.

Born 15 weeks premature, Raphael spent the first six months of his life in intensive care. When he was fighting for his life his parents made him a promise that they would do everything they could to ensure he was a happy and reached his full potential if he pulled through.

Now ‘Our Promise to Raphael’ is the name of the family's fundraising campaign, which collects funds to contribute to beneficial therapies and equipment for the young boy.

When Robert, who attended KLB as a student at the same time as Eloise, heard about the family’s fundraising he was keen to offer his support.

“Robert is an old school friend and he got in touch on Facebook. He told me he’d made a donation and that he would be happy to help in some way,” said Eloise, who used to run Beauty Scene in Long Street, Wotton.

“Not a lot of people would do something like that so it was great when he offered.”

Robert cycled from his home in Wotton to Bristol, then onto Cheddar Gorge before going to Weston-super-Mare and then back home again. At the time of speaking to the Gazette he had raised more than £500.

He said: “I knew Eloise from many years ago. I saw she was raising funds for Raphael and decided to help her out.

“The money I raised is going to go to two horse riding sessions [hippotherapy] a week for Raphael, which will give him more mobility and freedom.”

If you would like to read Raphael's full story or make a donation visit treeofHope.org.uk/raphael. You can also text a donation by sending RAFE66 followed by the amount to 70070.