The mother of a Croxley Green schoolboy who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was a baby said he "deserves a life free from pain", as a huge campaigning effort seeks to raise £80,000 for an operation which will help him walk.

Four-year-old Noah Collins was born nine weeks early and spent over a month in a special baby unit at Watford General Hospital. His parents, Jeanette and Dave, were told Noah had brain damage which would affect his balance.

The Yorke Mead Primary School pupil currently uses a walking frame to help with his mobility.

However, the degenerative condition means Noah might require a wheelchair permanently when he is older.

Noah, of The Chase, Watford, has been accepted for a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) operation in America, which is a neurosurgical procedure aimed at reducing tight and stiff muscle tone.

Mrs Collins said: "If he doesn’t have the operation now, he will need some orthopaedic surgery when he is older. As he grows, it gets more difficult because the bones and muscles don’t grow at the same rate.

"We want to get it done sooner rather than later. The prognosis is that he will lose the ability to move in his late teens and early twenties, meaning that he will require the use of a wheelchair full-time."

Mrs Collins, who is a consultant at Slimming World, said: "Our main goal is just to give him a bit of quality of life. Even if he doesn’t walk it will mean he won’t be in the same pain when he is older. He deserves a life free from pain."

The SDR surgery is available in the UK, but, as it is relatively new in this country, Mrs Collins said British doctors are more cautious to perform the procedure on Noah.

The youngster, who is currently on medication which relaxes his muscles, has been accepted to have the operation at St Louis Children’s Hospital, in Missouri.

Mrs Collins said: "It won’t be a miracle cure but the operation will take away the stiffness and build on the movement."

Noah has two sisters, five-year-old Isla and 15-month-old Daisy.

Speaking on how Noah deals with his condition, Mrs Collins said: "He is not fazed by it at all. At the moment he doesn’t realise he’s any different from any other children.

"He is a very happy and smiley little boy, but I have it in my head that he will become more aware as he gets older."

A total of £80,000 needs to be raised for the procedure. For more information or to Help Noah Walk visit www.justgiving.com/HelpNoahWalk