A nine-year-old boy says he is “very excited but a little bit nervous” about a life-changing operation that is looming large on the horizon.

Generous fundraisers have collected more than £45,000 to send Ben Smithson to America on New Year’s Day for the surgery.

The Ilkley youngster has cerebral palsy and needs a k-walker to move about, but the pioneering operation in St Louis, Missouri, should enable him to walk unaided.

And readers of the Telegraph & Argus will be able to keep track of Ben’s progress and rehabilitation, with his mother Charlotte writing a blog during the family’s month across the Atlantic Ocean, along with brother Jacob and dad Damian.

But the football-mad youngster is keen to enjoy Christmas before he embarks on his life-changing trip.

  • Read more in Thursday's T&A