AFTER a year of tireless fundraising which has pulled the entire community together one young boy from Tetbury has been told the date he can have an operation which could make his dream come true.

Nine-year-old Lewis Munday suffers from spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, which causes him to have stiff legs and forces him to use a walker or a wheelchair to get around.

Since last February, the family of sports-mad Lewis have been raising money to a pay for the selective dorsal rhizotomy procedure, which if successful will allow him to walk again.

Now after surpassing the £35,000 target needed, Lewis has been told by doctors that he can have the operation at the end of March at the Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.

Louise Ponting, Lewis' mum, is overjoyed that their fundraising campaign has ended in success.

“We have £39,000 – we are at target – we are ready to go,” she said.

“It is amazing to know we have a date now. The doctor said to me that we might have to push it back three days but I can deal with that. It is definitely going to be March 24 or March 27.”

Some of the cash raised for Lewis is already being spent on hydrotherapy (water physiotherapy) which is helping him prepare for the operation.

In a few weeks, Lewis and his family are set to head to the Frenchay for his pre-operative assessment, where he will have an evaluation to check his health and be given information about his surgery and recovery.

People in the region of have relentlessly rallied around to raise money for Lewis, with cash being raised through a variety of fundraising events such as music festival, Tetbury Fiesta last summer.

And donations for Lewis, who attends St Mary’s Primary School in Tetbury, are still flying in, with organisations such as Tetbury Rugby club expected to contribute soon.