A SEVEN-year-old boy from Hereford who is undergoing cancer treatment has a new set of wheels to help him get around.

Oscar Minto, from Whitecross, has received a lightweight wheelchair - something which also helps when he is exhausted from chemotherapy treatments and allows him to join in activities with his friends and enjoy days out with his family.

Oscar first received a specialist buggy from Newlife the Charity for Disabled Children – the UK’s largest charity provider of specialist equipment for children with disabilities and terminal illness – after his parents Katie and Steve were told he had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in May 2014, when he was just four years old.

Now, after outgrowing his buggy, he has received a lightweight wheelchair to help him continue to go out easily and attend hospital appointments.

Mum, Katie, said: “Oscar loves his wheelchair. It has given him more freedom and has given him his dignity back as he’s no longer in a buggy – and his friends think it is cool. It’s much easier for me to push as it’s lighter and easier to manoeuvre – and he can even self-propel in it too.

“Oscar enjoys going to coffee shops and the cinema and loves going to animal places as well as a family walk in the park. Having the wheelchair means he can do all this and go lots of other places.”

Families who would be eligible for a Newlife Equipment Grant – like Oscar’s – can apply for free support through Newlifeable, should the item they need be advertised on the website.

However, each item can also be purchased at a substantially reduced price which covers the cost of refurbishment.