Baby Oscar will get gift of treatment this Christmas after generous donors fund appeal

Baby Oscar Radford, 7 months, who has flat head syndrome, pictured with his mum Courtney Land.Picture: ANTONY KELLY (Image: Archant Norfolk 2016)

Diagnosed with flat-head syndrome, seven-month-old Oscar Radford is one of many babies to suffer from the condition, but the deformity has become so pronounced he will need a specially fitted helmet to correct his skull.

Around one in five babies experience flat head syndrome at some point, which can be caused by problems in the womb, lying on their back or being born prematurely.

Oscar's case is not so severe as to require surgery, but a helmet to help reshape his skull could cost in the region of £2,000.

Now the West Norwich Lions Club, which operate out of Bowthorpe, has offered to pay whatever it takes to complete their fund-raising.

'We will give that money out as and when we see a deserving cause,' said a spokesman. 'We quite regularly get appeals in for help, and at the moment we are in the middle of our Christmas collecting. Half of that money will go to the oesophageal cancer centre at the N&N, and the other half will go to the Clare School [for children with physical and sensory needs].

'We read the article in the paper about the appeal for Oscar, and thought it looked like something we could get involved in.

'We got in touch with the majority of the members, and thought we might as well put up all the money they need. We considered £200 at first which would be useful, but we thought as it is Christmas and we have some money in the kitty, let's give it to them.'

It comes after the East Coast Truckers, best known for their children's convoy on August Bank Holiday Sunday, have promised to donate half of the funds.

Jackie Noy, of the East Coast Truckers, said: 'We had a discussion about it at our last meeting and we are prepared to give £1,000 to the fund.

'When we see something like this in the paper and one of our members asks if we can help, we put it to the floor, and everyone agreed.

'We do look out for special cases in the area, and Oscar could even come onto our database of children we help throughout the year.'

Oscar's grandmother Sadie Wight, 41, said therapy would become a 'real strain' on the family, including his two-year-old sister, Isla.

'If he has his helmet they said sometimes it can right itself as quickly as 12 weeks,' she said. 'We haven't really got the choice of doing nothing at all.

'The doctor at the hospital said this would be the best time to do it, and it is better to do it before he gets much older.'

To have the helmet fitted, the family will have to go to the London Orthotic Consultancy in Cambridge.