Uplifting news: Donations for sick four-year-old boy and a Captain Tom portrait

These are the lighter stories you might have missed.

– Mother ‘elated’ after donations surge for son, four, who needs cancer vaccine

The mother of a sick four-year-old boy in Kent who needs £232,000 for potentially life-saving treatment says she is “totally elated” after a huge spike in donations over the weekend.

Budding surfer Liam Scott is coming to the end of a gruelling year of painful treatment for neuroblastoma – a rare cancer.

An experimental vaccine could prevent the life-threatening disease coming back, but is only available in New York.

Thanks to the efforts of a local footballer as well as increased publicity over the weekend, donations have shot up to more than £100,000. Footballer Charlie Holmes has also amassed £24,000 on his own JustGiving page.

Liam’s mother Claire, 40, told the PA news agency: “It’s incredible, I can’t believe it… I am totally elated.”

– Portrait of Captain Tom Moore to be donated to Army Foundation College

A portrait of Captain Tom Moore surrounded by a rainbow will be donated to the Army Foundation College.

Artist Neil J Arms, from Penrith, is donating the painting, which was created in honour of the NHS fundraiser’s 100th birthday, to the college in Harrogate on May 19.

Announcing the donation on Facebook, Mr Arms said: “I’m extremely proud and honoured to reveal that my painting of Tom has a new home.

“As you may know, to celebrate his 100th birthday, HM The Queen promoted Captain Tom Moore to an honorary Colonel of Harrogate Military College. It’s this college where the painting is going!

“I’m totally overwhelmed with pride as I write this.”

– Giant dinosaur delights neighbours during coronavirus lockdown

A giant inflatable dinosaur has been spotted “waddling” the streets of Watford by delighted neighbours isolating in their homes.

Georgina Cooper, a 35-year-old mother, has been using her daily walk to entertain her community as their friendly local Tyrannosaurus rex.

Mrs Cooper, who has two sons aged one and five, said she bought the dinosaur costume from eBay “for fun” but after its popularity “spiralled out of control” she began using it to collect money for PPE in care homes.

“So many people come out on their doorstep, waiting and waving. It’s not just kids, it’s people of all ages who come out to see the dinosaur,” she said.

– Volunteers make more than 20,000 face shields at pop-up factory

A group of volunteers have given up their time and equipment to produce more than 20,000 face shields for health workers as part of an initiative started by engineering enthusiasts.

The Shield Force project in Edinburgh has been designing and making PPE to donate to hospitals during the coronavirus crisis.

What started with a handful of product design professionals using their 3D printers to help fight Covid-19 has led to a pop-up factory with more than 200 people helping out.

Costa Talalaev, director of Maker-Bee, a company that has volunteered the use of its 3D printers, said: “In the first week we had about five people, then we went to 15 people, two weeks later we had 45 people or so, with 15 people essentially working full time.

“Now we have about 200 contributors overall and we’re looking into making new things.”

– Passenger plane brings 10 million pairs of gloves for NHS

A passenger plane has landed in the UK with 10 million pairs of surgical gloves for the NHS.

The Airbus A340 9H-EAL, with “Thank You NHS” written on its fuselage, arrived at Bournemouth Airport after picking up the supplies from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The aircraft, owned by Bournemouth-based European Aviation Group, touched down at around 8.15am on Sunday, with the boxes of gloves then passed to NHS supplier Crest Medical, based in Warrington, which commissioned the delivery.

Paul Stoddart, European Aviation’s chairman, told PA: “Today’s flight was a total success. Twenty million gloves, that’s 10 million pairs of gloves, delivered to Crest Medical and on their way to the NHS.”