Litres of ice cream have been poured over a five-year-old boy to raise money for the NHS after the birth of his baby brother.
Percy Smith, from Kenninghall, was covered by six litres of vanilla and mint chocolate chip ice cream, his favourite flavours, in a paddling pool in his garden this week.
The youngster did the challenge, which he named the ice cream slop head challenge, to raise money for the NHS.
His mother, Katie Smith, 34, gave birth to his baby brother, Monty, at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital three weeks ago and was overwhelmed by the support of the midwives and staff.
The idea to raise money came out of the blue, when the family were discussing the selfless work of NHS both during coronavirus and Mrs Smith’s labour.
Mrs Smith said: “I was incredibly nervous about having to go to hospital and waited until the last minute as I didn’t want to risk catching the virus by going in twice. But it was so clean and the staff were completely on it.
“I’ve never had anything but incredible experiences with midwives, they are the most supportive people and bring your most precious thing into the world. Percy really wanted to recognise their hard work and just came out with the idea. I didn’t want to discourage it so we just went for it.”
Percy, who was nervous the day before, tackled the challenge by holding two cones up to his ears in order to catch the most ice cream.
Mrs Smith said: “He’s a really fun-loving child and I knew he would laugh at the start of the challenge and then cry when the cold hit him. It was freezing and he had chocolate chips all in his hair.”
Percy had a beaming smile when the challenge ended – despite hysterical laughter from his three-year-old brother Albie – and recovered in a warm bath.
He also asked his parents to reserve one scoop of the mint chocolate chip ice cream, which he enjoyed afterwards.
Mrs Smith said: “Percy is super brave and we are so very proud of him.”
To donate visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ice-cream-slop-head
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here