A BOY from Malawi, whose parents named him Trouble, has been renamed Gift thanks to a group of friends from North Yorkshire.

Peter and Rosemary Harrison's son Jim trained as a surgeon in Newcastle but has since taken a post with the Care International charity in Africa, writing home about his work to his parents, who are from the Ripon area.

They spoke to friends at the town's Holy Trinity Church, who launched a collection to help.

Then news came about a young boy called Trouble, who had lost a leg to disease when he was a baby.

The friends vowed to raise enough money to buy a prosthetic leg but, when the size of the necessary donation was established, it emerged they only needed to add 70p to the £54 they had already collected. Trouble has since undergone minor surgery under Mr Harrison to prepare his leg for the false limb.

The link with his friends in Ripon has also led to another change in his life.

"The family called him Trouble as that was what he represented when he was born," said Mrs Harrison. "But, at Jim's suggestion, they have now changed it to another name, which sounds very similar in their language, and which means Gift."

Mr and Mrs Harrison will fly to Malawi today to visit their son and are hoping to meet the little boy.

"The group hopes to keep in touch with him so we can help in future, and will continue to raise money so we may be able to assist others with treatment," said Mrs Harrison.