A TWO-YEAR-OLD boy brought tears to his parents’ eyes when he took his first solo steps.

Oliver Rushton, who suffers from spastic diplegia – a form of cerebral palsy – had a five-hour operation at the end of August in the hope it would help him walk for the first time.

And just weeks later, he has amazed parents Adam and Helen, of Carr Road, Barnoldswick, by walking on his own twice on the same day.

Adam, a customer services worker said: “I was on the phone to my wife in the afternoon when he walked on his own for the first time and she just said ‘oh my god’.

“Then I got home from work and he did it again for me. It was an amazing moment. It brought a tear to our eyes.

“He walked about four of five metres at home. It was very special.”

Oliver was diagnosed with the condition, which causes constant stiffness and tightness in his legs, in April 2012.

A pupil at Brook Farm Nursery in Kelbrook, Oliver wears splints on his legs to help stretch his muscles and relied on crawling to get around.

Since his operation at Leeds General Hospital, he has been having physio four times a week, both at home and at Reedley Hall Child Development Centre in Burnley.

Adam, whose wife is a midwife at Burnley General Hospital said: “At physio last week he was able to stand up on his own and put his hands above his head for 20 seconds, so we knew his balance had been getting better.

“He is due back in Leeds for a review on December 29 and his surgeon said he was confident he would be walking independently by then, so hopefully he will keep improving now.

“He has his walker as well but we were concerned he was relying too much on it. Now he has shown he can walk on his own he should be more confident to keep trying.”

Adam and Helen were told that the operation could not be funded by the NHS, so they raised £25,000 to fund it themselves, which they did through a variety of charity events over the course of a year.

In September, Adam took part in the Great North Run, completing the half marathon course in two hours, one minute.