THE mother of a six-year-old boy with a devastating muscle-wasting condition is calling on daredevils to kick off 2015 with a 10,000ft parachute jump, helping to raise vital funds to develop promising potential treatments.

Thomas Robinson, who lives in Crewe, was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in January 2008.

The condition will cause his muscles to weaken and waste over time, probably leading to increasingly severe disability and significantly shortening his life-expectancy.

Thomas' mum Karen is asking local people to back national charity the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s Make Today Count event on March 1, which will see at least 100 people skydive at sites around the UK.

Aspiring dare-devils wishing to join the group, dubbed Team 100, will be asked to raise £399 sponsorship for their efforts.

Those without a head for heights can also support the campaign by sponsoring skydivers, backing other local Make Today Count fundraising events on the day or organising their own fundraising event to help.

Karen said: “There was no history of the disease in our family so Thomas' diagnosis came as an awful shock.

"Thomas knows he has 'poorly legs', but he loves to dance and ride his bike - he quickly gets tired and can't keep up with his friends, but his taste for an adventure never fails. He is a lovely, cheeky, typical seven year old boy full of fun and mischief and makes us laugh everyday - he definitely keeps us all going. With the support of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, we have real hope for the future - with the right treatments, lots of support, and hopefully some positive results from the many research projects currently underway, we hope that Thomas might be able to lead a long and healthy life. We hope that people in the North West will support all on 1 March to help the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign continue to fund ground-breaking research by signing up to do a parachute jump to raise funds for the charity. It could help to change the lives of hundreds of boys like Thomas for the better.”

To find out more about Make Today Count contact the North West fundraising office on northwest@muscular-dystrophy.org or call 01244 536551.