Walking Miracle

3 weeks after he took his first steps, double amputee Tony, five, started a 10K challenge which raised £1m for the hospital that saved him.

- Amy-Clare Martin

Completing a 10km challenge would be an impressive feat for any five-year-old lad.

But given that little Tony Hudgell is a double amputee and started his trek just weeks after taking his first steps in his new prosthetic legs, it is little short of miraculous.

As he crossed the finishing line to cheers, the determined boy whom medics feared would never even crawl, achieved a huge milestone.

And inspired to march by NHS fundraising hero Captain Tom Moore, he raised £1million for the hospital that saved him as a baby after he was abused and neglected by his birth parents. Proud adoptive mum Paula, 52, said: “His start in life was just unimaginable but he has come so far. For a really long time, we didn’t know how he was going to be.

“Originally, I was told he wouldn’t sit, crawl, talk or walk – but he’s reached all those milestones.

“Nothing is an obstacle to him. If he wants to do it he will find his own way to do it.”