A YOUNG disabled boy is looking forward to the trip of a lifetime before a cruel degenerative illness confines him to a wheelchair thanks to generous people in York and a national charity.

Reece Stewart, nine, of Dringhouses, has the muscle-wasting disease Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy and doctors expect him to have to rely on a wheelchair by the time he reaches his early teens but his family is determined to see his dreams come true while his health is good.

They are now set to enjoy a holiday to Disneyworld in Florida after the Make A Wish charity stepped in to help with the cost. The Stewarts had already collected almost £4,000 from a fundraising evening in July.

His dad, Richard, said they were delighted when they learnt Make A Wish would be able to help.

“When we broke the news to the children they were over the moon. We’ve been aiming for this for a long time, trying to get Reece there while he is still able.

“Reece is doing really well at the moment, he is still mobile and the doctors think he will be when we go away.” Reece, his parents Nicola and Richard, and his older teenage sisters, Lauren and Chelsea, will all jet out to Florida for a week in autumn, where Reece will be able achieve his dream of swimming with dolphins.

The trip would not have been possible without the help of friends, family, and local businesses who all pitched in to make the fundraiser a success, with raffle prizes and an auction for a week's holiday in a cottage in Whitby, Richard said.

“Nicola and I are chuffed to bits. We have thought about this a lot, from when Reece was first diagnosed at four years old, but didn’t know how to go about it.”

The couple have thanked Acomb Working Men’s Club, where the event was staged, and everyone who donated prizes and helped make it a success.

While Reece is looking forward to swimming with dolphins and meeting Disney characters, the trip will also give him chance to spend time in the water which helps his muscles and will let the family spend valuable time together, Richard said.