A MOTHER has spoken of her disgust after thieves and conmen allegedly stole from her £50,000 campaign to secure life-changing surgery for her disabled son.

Jodie Bussey’s son, Thomas Brennan, five, suffers from spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, leaving him in constant pain and unable to walk more than few steps.

He is often confined to a pushchair or wheelchair.

Medics believe pioneering surgery could help him walk freely for the first time. However, the surgery must be performed in the US and would cost at least £48,000.

Since The Northern Echo first reported Thomas’ story in February, wellwishers have helped bring Miss Bussey’s fundraising total to £11,500.

However, she has been told thieves have stolen at least two collection tins, while others have claimed to be fundraising for Thomas, but then pocketed money.

Miss Bussey, from Ushaw Moor, County Durham, said: “To commit theft against a disabled child when we are trying to raise money to get an operation he desperately needs is disgusting.

“I am trying to keep track of everything, but I am just one person fighting by myself. It is a constant worry.”

Thomas has secured a place on a waiting list for the operation to be performed in St Louis, US, in August. To take it, Miss Bussey must have the money by July.

Visitors to the Masons Arms, in Etherley Dene, near Bishop Auckland, have raised £1,025 for Thomas.

Miss Bussey thanked everyone for their help, saying she had been overwhelmed.

She said: “If I go a day without crying, it is a surprise.

“I am hopeful we can reach the target. It would be perfect.

It would stop Thomas having to go through another winter, which is the worst time for him. He is pretty much housebound from the end of November to the beginning of February. The cold makes his knees seize up. If we could get the operation in August, it would be amazing.”

The longer Thomas waits for an operation, the worse his condition becomes. The surgery, selective dorsal rhizotomy, works best before a child reaches six, which for Thomas would be next March.

Several fundraising events are planned over the coming weeks.

For more information, visit justgiving.com/help-thomasreach- the-moon-and-stars or call 07518-333514.