A charity day to celebrate the tragically short life of a little boy takes place at a Bradford pub this month.

Dylan’s Day takes place at the Black Swan in Thornton Road, Bradford, on Saturday, October 20, and takes its inspiration from two-year-old Dylan McKenzie-Moore, who died in July after contracting pneumonia.

The charity day, which has a superhero theme – with prizes for the best costumes – as Dylan loved superheroes, also aims to raise awareness and funds for a local charity, the Hand in Hand group.

Hand in Hand is a support group for parents of children with disabilities, which meets at Woodside Children’s Centre. It proved a life-line for Dylan’s parents when they moved from West Bowling to Woodside.

Dylan was born nine weeks prematurely on August 18, 2009, and spent ten weeks in special care. He was just one-and-half weeks old when doctors had to break the news to his parents, Andrea and Rick McKenzie-Moore, that he had severe brain damage.

“It was gut wrenching,” said Andrea, 35. “Dylan had cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He could not even crawl and he was fed by a tube in his nose.”

The Hand in Hand group was set up by David Burke and his partner Claire Clayton, whose son Jay has Down’s syndrome. Dylan attended the first meeting when there were just three families.

Now there are about 20 who attend the group at Woodside Children’s Centre, and Dylan’s family and friends hope the charity day will raise much-needed funds to provide more facilities for the children, such as outdoor play equipment, adapted to the needs of children with disabilities.

Andrea said: “The support they gave was brilliant. There was always someone at the end of the phone who knew what we were going through.”

Dylan’s disabilities made him prone to chest infections and just weeks before his third birthday he contracted pneumonia and passed away at home.

“He was a very happy, cheeky little boy and he had a smile for everyone,” added Andrea.

The charity day, organised by landlady Liesa Priestley and Mikhail Mladenovic, will feature live bands and acts from 3pm, a barbecue, raffle and cupcake stall. The venue is wheelchair- friendly.