A Hampshire youngster who suffers from a rare condition that causes his body to grow extra bone can play in his own garden now - thanks to help from a children's charity.

Five-year-old Jamie Turvey, of Four Marks, has has fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), which means he grows extra bone whenever muscle or ligament is damaged.

It means his joints fuse together – making it very difficult for him to play independently.

The Ropley Primary School pupil’s arms are locked at the shoulders while his spine and neck have fused. He was unable to access the garden because he could not tackle the steps and concrete slabs.

But children’s charity WellChild has built Jamie a new garden where he can play unsupervised in a safe environment.

Workers have transformed the patio area by covering the concrete slabs with artificial grass and replacing the steps with a non-slip ramp.

It means Jamie, who was also born with a heart condition, has a safe route into his garden and will make a “massive difference in his life”, according to parents Clive and Surekha.

Clive said: “The world is a pretty brutal place but this means Jamie gets a safe area, which is great. That was the biggest piece of the jigsaw for us and we knew nothing about this charity until about three months ago.

“I cannot sing their praises highly enough and we were blessed to have their help.”

And Clive added he was keen to raise awareness of FOP.

He added: “The condition is almost like growing a second skeleton until your body freezes up. Jamie copes with it well but it is all he has ever known. Prevention of further problems is key for us, hence the garden.

“Jamie was pretty amazed when he saw the garden and it gave him a big smile. We are going to have years and years of fun out of this now.”

The artificial turf is place over rubber mats which makes the surface soft in case of any falls.

The project was supported by help from contractors Osborne with around 16 people taking part in the work.