A YOUNGSTER who stays cheerful despite his handicaps hopes to walk unaided -- if his appeal fund hits a £12,000 target.

Matthew Fidler suffers from cerebral palsy quadriplegia -- which means both arms and legs have restricted movement.

Matthew, six, of George Road, Ramsbottom, can only walk with the aid of a frame, leaving him isolated from most of his friends.

Dad Tony said: "He really is a cheerful boy but he can get down at times, especially when he sees his friends doing things he can't do. He sometimes stands himself up on the settee and says 'Look daddy' but he cannot walk very far on his own.''

Tony and Matthew's mum Maria, who are divorced, are determined to help Matthew walk independently and aim to send him to a specialist institute in Liverpool.

The Mace Centre employs the intensive methods borrowed from the renowned Peto Institute in Hungary which deals specifically with Matthew's condition.

But the costs are high.

"We sent Matthew for eight weeks at the start of the year but that cost £1,700," said Tony, who works with disabled children for Rochdale Council's social services department.

"On top of that it was costing us £100 a week on petrol and obviously I can't afford to keep doing that."

Tony was forced to take a loan out to cover the costs. Matthew attends a mainstream school in Bury which also caters for 10 special needs youngsters,

His parents set up a fund to send him for a 12-month course at the Mace Centre. Through fund-raising events and donations from the public, the couple hope to raise £12,000 in their effort to enable Matthew to walk.

Maria said: "The progress from those eight weeks was tremendous. His balance has come on and the difference is really noticeable.

"We want to send him back there in September for the school holidays and then again every school holiday for a year. Matthew is determined to walk independently but we don't have the funds to match that determination."

So far Tony and Maria have raised about £5,000 through events such as sponsored walks and parachute jumps. But they need to meet the £12,000 total if Matthew is to walk unaided.

Matthew also needs an electric wheelchair to help his movement at school.

Maria said: "He has a manual wheelchair but someone has to push him around. Recently somebody rang up and promised him a chair but they never followed it up. Matthew was so upset when it fell through."