A CHARITY set up to help a little boy with disabilities has now helped a host of other needy youngsters across the Black Country – dishing out grants of around £40,000 to help buy equipment that will make their lives easier.

The Friends of Alfie Johnson was set up nine years ago to fundraise for Alfie, from Stourbridge, who was starved of oxygen at birth in a hospital blunder – leaving him permanently disabled and in need of round-the-clock care.

Comprising a committee of eight people including Alfie’s parents Paul and Vickie Johnson, relatives and friends – the organisation started out raising money to help Alfie and his family.

But after the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust admitted full liability for the youngster's condition after a lengthy legal battle, which resulted in his family receiving a seven-figure payout to help pay for care for Alfie for the rest of his life, the charity is now able to concentrate on helping other needy children with disabilities.

To date it has dished out more than £40,000 to more than 30 youngsters – paying for equipment and even surgery in some cases where the NHS no longer funds certain procedures.

Alfie's dad, Paul, said: “We’re here to help children with disabilities – we need to help as many as we can.”

The charity and those involved organise and take part in numerous fundraisers throughout the year to pull in the pounds for the cause – the biggest of which is a summer ball at The Copthorne Hotel, Brierley Hill.

Paul said: “Last year we did our best ever - £16,000. This year we’ve sold out and the tickets haven’t even been printed; at the moment we have a reserve list.”

Fitness fan Paul has also taken part in a triathlon and numerous various charity runs including the Great Midlands Fun Run in Sutton Coldfield where he is a regular entrant.

The charity has also received "a massive boost" – having been selected as one of the Mayor of Dudley’s chosen causes for 2016/17.

Paul said: “We’re a relative small charity; there’s so many out there that deserve help. For us to be chosen is a great honour.”

The charity is also being supported by a number of Black Country businesses which have chosen the cause as their organisation to fundraise for – including Price Pearson accountants in Kidderminster, Avanti Kitchens and Bedrooms in Lye, Better Gym in Sutton Coldfield, TSB branches in Stourbridge, Merry Hill and Old Hill and Co-operative Travel in Halesowen (part of Midcounties Co-operative Society).

Paul said the price tags for equipment for children with disabilities often runs into thousands and he told the News: "This why we need to raise all this money. We’re a no profit charity so every penny we make goes to help the children. No one on the committee takes a wage, we’re all just dedicated volunteers.”

But he said items donated to date have made a “really big difference” to the youngsters on the receiving end.

A specialist bed worth around £4,000 for a little girl with severe autism is among the kit that has been presented; a £4,000 Eyegaze system has also helped a young girl with Rett syndrome, who cannot speak, to communicate with family.

Around five disabled youngsters have also been awarded grants of around £16,000 between them to undergo surgery, that is not funded on the NHS, to help them achieve their dream of walking.

A young blind schoolboy has been given a £4,000 braille system to help him with his studies at home - and another little boy, who suffers from deafness, is now able to hear his parents while at home thanks to a high tech aid which previously was only available to him during the school day.

Paul, aged 44, said: “All these things cost thousands of pounds. We have found special needs commands a special price.”

The former press photographer, who gave up his job five years ago to become Alfie’s full-time carer, said the Friends of Alfie Johnson was formed after he quickly realised he would need to fundraise for every piece of kit his little boy needed.

A kind gesture from Stourbridge's Chris Westwood, who runs The Chris Westwood Charity for children with disabilities, inspired Paul to throw himself into fundraising and he hasn’t looked back.

He said: “We approached Chris Westwood when Alfie was a baby and he funded a car seat that was going to cost £1,000. I said to him ‘next year I’m going to raise money and give you your £1,000 back' – and since then we’ve been able to help so many more children.”

The fundraising helps to keep Paul and wife Vickie busy as do their other two children Finley, aged four, and Megan, aged 17 months, but he says he’ll never stop thinking about the life Alfie should have enjoyed.

He said: “I’ll never come to terms with what happened to him. He shouldn’t have been like that. He would be a healthy nine-year-old kid. He was a perfectly healthy baby until they compromised him. There was no monitoring in the final 30 minutes of labour - that’s where all the brain damage was caused. He was completely starved of oxygen –and he was 30 seconds from death.”

Alfie, however, has an army of supporters looking out for him and Paul said: “We can’t change what happened but we managed to secure his future – and there’s been something positive come out of all of this in his name.”

As well as distributing grants to needy youngsters – the charity also donates £10 to every child at Alfie’s school, Pens Meadow at Wordsley, every Christmas - along with a card from Alfie.

Paul said: “Every penny we make goes to help children.”

Anyone wishing to request an application for funding or to make a donation to the Friends of Alfie Johnson, which has been a registered charity since 2014, can do so online at www.friendsofalfiejohnson.org.uk