A four-year-old boy is suffering from a rare disorder which makes him too afraid to eat.

Liam Hirst could only manage four chips and a spoonful of pureed fruit to celebrate his fourth birthday this month.

He weighs just two stone and his problems mean he has to be fed through a tube directly into his stomach for 16 hours a day.

Liam, from Yeadon, has an extremely delicate digestive system which can only tolerate small amounts of food at a time.

In addition the left side of his tongue has not developed properly so the youngster is still learning how to chew and swallow.

He often panics when eating, particularly something new, and is also allergic to milk, soya and eggs.

The condition is believed to have caused acid reflux when he was a baby, which leads to severe burning and pain when eating, and was only corrected by surgery.

Liam also suffers from a condition called ligamentus laxity, which causes his joints to be so loose they can't support him properly.

Now a Bradford-based charity has launched a £10,000 appeal to buy Liam a special wheelchair and computer to improve his quality of life and a car to help transport him to and from hospital and school.

Liam's mum Diane, 28, said: "The first 18 months of Liam's life was spent in hospital.

"To look at him now, he looks healthy, but he is painfully thin, weighing just two stones, and he also suffers from asthma.

"Because children learn in a certain order he has missed all the windows and is still learning about chewing and swallowing.

"Sometimes he chews things and panics when he is trying to swallow. He is terrified of eating."

Liam is fed high-calorie food through a pipe in his stomach, which operates when he's asleep, but he still has difficulty putting on weight.

He also needs feeding during the day through the pipe and the wheelchair would be specially adapted to enable him to eat out of the house.

His health problems have delayed his learning and speech which it is hoped could be boosted by a special computer.

Mrs Hirst, who is a single mum, added: "Liam's a very happy little boy and he's really lovely to be around, but it can be hard work.

"I'm trying to get him to eat food and he can eat a few chips, pureed vegetables and mashed potatoes."

Bradford-based charity the Disabled Children's Foundation has now stepped in to help Diane and Liam with fund-raising.

Anyone who can help should contact the Disabled Children's Foundation on (01274) 616766.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.