"I don't need a scooter or any toys, I just need my mummy," said eight-year-old Ben Culpeck after deciding to donate the money he hopes to raise from the sale of his toys to a charity supporting his mother’s condition.

His mother Helen, 37, suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a degenerative and incurable disease which has left her hypermobile and reliant on a wheelchair or crutches for mobility and taking up to 50 tablets a day.

This Saturday (June 23) Ben will host a garden sale of toys, games, bric-a-brac, games and refreshments at the family home in Trowley Rise, Abbots Langley, with all proceeds going to Borehamwood-based Ehlers-Danlos Support.

Ben had originally planned to sell some toys to buy a new scooter but having collected up items to sell, he decided he would rather the money be used to research his mother’s condition.

Helen said: "I was so proud of him when he told me. I just broke down in tears.

"He decided he wanted a scooter as he hasn’t got one so he went round with plastic bags collecting up toys he was happy to sell. But then he came down and said he didn’t need a scooter and he wanted to give me the money.

"We talked about it and I explained that giving it to me wouldn’t really help and that a charity could do more with it. He was absolutely fine about that."

Helen has always had hypermobility, meaning her joints are more flexible, she was diagnosed with EDS at 23 but was not told by her doctor and only learned of the diagnosis when reading medical records recently.

"I have always been very bendy. As a child I used to be able to do incredible things, people would call me their flexible friend," she said.

Mrs Culpeck began to experience complications while pregnant with her fourth son in 2005, after which she needed several major operations and she was left unable to walk without support and suffering constant pain.

Her husband Keith gave up his management role six years ago to become a full time carer to her and their four sons, all of whom are affected by the inherited condition.

She said: "We haven’t got a goal for how much we want to raise, we just want to be able to donate as much as possible."

The sale and raffle will be open from 11am to 3pm on Saturday, June 23, at 89 Trowley Rise, Abbots Langley.