NHS chiefs have vowed to fund part of a life-changing procedure that will enable a three-year-old Hampshire boy to walk.

A Daily Echo-backed campaign has raised the £50,000 needed to finance a specialist operation needed by James Mills, who is unable to take a single step unaided.

Mum Vicki, 29, of Hythe, was originally told she would have to fund the surgery and associated aftercare herself.

But NHS England has since decided to finance some of the operations, which are being carried out at five hospitals across the country to test the effectiveness of the procedure.

James is due to be treated at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.

The hospital has yet to use up its funding allocation and has agreed to pay for the actual surgery, which costs about £10,000.

Vicki said: “This does not include the immediate aftercare or the pre and post-rehabilitation, which we will still have to fund.

“Any money we don’t use will be given to another child who is in urgent need of the operation.”

James was born with cerebral palsy and needs Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), which improves a patient’s mobility by cutting the faulty nerves responsible for muscle stiffness.

He is expected to be walking within a few weeks of the operation but it could take him several months to perfect his balance.

Vicki said: “James is due to undergo surgery in January or February and it couldn’t come at a better time. He’s making friends and wants to go out with them like any other little boy.

“After the operation there won’t be anything holding him back. He’ll be a completely different person – and he’s finally going to be pain-free.”

As reported in the Daily Echo, Vicki is calling for all SDR operations to be made available on the NHS and has launched an online petition that has so far gained more than 1,800 signatures.

She said: “It really angers and upsets me that many parents are having to fund the procedure themselves.

“The NHS has said it’s not cost effective but children who don’t have SDR need ongoing treatment that can continue into early adulthood and ends up costing the NHS more money.

“It breaks my heart that families denied SDR aren’t getting what they need for their children.”