AN APPEAL for funds to send a sick Rossendale youngster to Florida for dolphin therapy has got off to a flying start.

Children's charity When You Wish Upon a Star will pay for the trip of a lifetime after hearing about the plight of Connor Hurst.

Connor, who recently celebrated his sixth birthday, is facing a double life-saving transplant operation to replace his liver and bowel.

Donations have been flooding in after kind-hearted people heard about his plight.

The family have received £1,000 from a Cheshire businessman and an elderly gentleman made a bus trip from Haslingden to donate £50.

And the youngster was given his dream birthday present -- a battery powered jeep -- donated by a Lancashire Evening Telegraph reader at his party.

Friends are shooting a calendar featuring pictures of children in the Valley at studios in Oldham on Sunday.

The calendar is to be funded through sponsorship and help from Bacup Hairdressers, Stone.

It is hoped that the calendar will generate around £5,000 spending money for the trip.

Connor's mum, Dawn Birtwistle, of Hindle Street, Stacksteads, said: "We have been amazed by the generosity of people.

"Connor won't be able to go on the holiday until a year after his operation but he is already really excitedabout the prospects of swimming with the dolphins and meeting Mickey Mouse."

Angela Collier, of Newchurch Road, Stacksteads, is a family friend who is spearheading the fundraising campaign.

She said: "Connor has been through so much that he deserves a better quality of life and to have something nice happen in his life."

Maria Moseley from When You Wish Upon a Star said: "When I saw Connor I really felt for him as he has suffered so much. He's waiting for a transplant and has been down a really hard road. I thought if we can come along and give him something positive to look forward to then we will have helped to make his dream come true."