- Jan 12, 2017
- 2 min read

James and his giant Christmas lights raised over £700 for Formby boy Dan

James Comish and his fantastic Christmas lights on Beechwood Drive in Formby have raised an amazing £794.75 for Formby youngster Dan who suffers from Cerebral Palsy.

James said: "I would like to thank everyone who donated. I was amazed by everyone's generosity of this year. Thankyou so much."

James decorated his home on Beechwood Drive, Formby with fairy lights and Christmas decorations for the local community to enjoy, as well as helping raise money for a local charity. For the third year running James was raising funds for Formby youngster Daniel Van Der Velden who suffers from cerebral palsy.

Daniel has dystonic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, a devastating condition which leaves sufferers unable to talk or sit up and with hardly any movement in their arms and legs.

His parents Julie Kirby and Irwin Van Der Velden, of Formby, have found a new form of massage-based therapy called ABR which they believe will help the twelve-year-old maintain at least some control over his own movement as he grows up.

The treatment is only available in Belgium and therefore is not funded by the NHS.

It means the family face trips every three months across the Channel for Daniel’s therapy, at a cost of about £1,500 per visit.

Daniel travels to Belgium four times a year to receive the specialist treatment for his condition and any funds raised from the lights will be donated to Daniel's Therapy Fund. Julie Kirby, Daniel's mum said: “When James told me that they have decided to donate any funds raised from the Christmas Lights to Daniel's Therapy Fund for the third year, I was overwhelmed." ”The lights have always been designed to support various local charities, so for the family to decide to donate the money to Daniel for a third year is amazing. I can't thank James enough for all his generosity.“ Daniel was born with Dystonic Quadriplegic cerebral palsy which means he can't talk, sit up or use his arms and legs independently, but with a little help from his Therapy Fund, he can receive specialist treatment from the Belgium Advanced Bio-Mechanical Rehabilitation (ABR) centre. Money raised from Jame's Christmas lights will go towards Dan’s Therapy Fund, which will help fund trips, therapy equipment and research.