A six-year-old boy with a rare brain condition, which means he is the height of a toddler, could walk for the first time with the help of a special frame.

Matthew Rayner is battling two brain disorders and doctors have just discovered the main bone is missing in his left leg.

He uses a specially-adapted wheelchair but the frame will mean he will be able to stand up alongside his school friends at St William's in Girlington.

"He loves it at school but he's getting increasingly frustrated that he can't stand up like everyone else," said Matthew's mother, Angela.

"He keeps trying to get up but his legs are so weak that he just falls over. It's heartbreaking.

"His legs have always been buckled from birth and we never expected him to walk as the muscles are so weak.

"We went to see an orthopaedic surgeon who said that Matthew had got the main tibia bone missing in his left leg.

"He said he had never come across this before and it seems to be unconnected to his brain conditions.

"We looked into what equipment we could get and heard about the frame.

"It's used for people that are paralysed and has enough support so that no weight is placed on his body.

"Matthew will have to learn to balance in it and there is the possibility in a year or so that he will learn to take a few steps although he will never walk properly."

Matthew, who is the size of a two-year-old will not grow to more than 4ft because of a poorly developed Corpus Callosum, a strip of fibres that connects the two parts of the brain.

He also suffers from Joubert's Syndrome which means there is an excess of fluid on his brain.

The Twist and Walk frame costs around £1,500 and is being funded by the Health Service.

"We've fundraised for all Matthew's equipment in the past so it is a relief that something is being paid for," said Mrs Rayner, who lives in Young Street with her husband, Albert.

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