LITTLE Tyler Dolan has received a helping hand after surgery gave him thumbs for the first time.

Now the four-year-old is like any other child in school and is proud to be able to hold a pencil like his classmates.

He was born with a rare genetic disorder that left him with five fingers on each hand.

His mother, Clare, had the same condition and underwent years of painful surgery to correct the problem.

Now surgeons at the University Hospital of North Durham have taken the extra finger on each hand and turned it 90 degrees to create a thumb.

Tyler is having physiotherapy to teach him to use his thumbs and Mrs Dolan, 27, of Washington, Wearside, is delighted with the success of the surgery.

She said: "It's still early days and the consultant thinks he may need another operation because the skin is a bit tight, but he doesn't have to go back to see him for three months.

"In the meantime, he's got to have physio - he forgets his thumb is there. Everything is going well, but it takes time."

Tyler is a pupil at Oxclose Primary School and, though he loves lessons, he has still to master the use of his right hand.

He said: "I love my new thumbs - they are like my mum's."

Plastic surgeon Matt Erdmann said: "The thumb is responsible for about 40 per cent of the potential function of the hand and he would not be able to perform intricate tasks, such as picking up pens or coins, which we take for granted."

Mrs Dolan, an accounts assistant, was born with the same condition, but also had club feet and extra toes.