Chair appeal for Sheffield one-year-old who had a stroke in the womb

Tragically, however, he had a stroke before he was born, leaving him with brain damage, and the paralysis which affects one side of his body means he cannot roll, sit, crawl or walk.

Fortunately, help is at hand from a specialist chair which would give George the independence young children need to develop but, at £6,000 each, they don't come cheap.

Last Sunday, his mum, Susanna Clements, started a fundraising page which has already raised more than £3,000 in just five days.

Now, the family are hoping that Star readers might be able to help them raise the last few thousand pounds that would make such a difference to little George's life.

Susanna, 40, said: "I am amazed. My mum's friends and our friends have all donated.

"But we've had donations from people we don't know as well which has been really touching."

Susanna admits the family - who live in Hillsborough - have had a tough year, but says George is doing really well at the moment and did brilliantly when he tried the chair.

"If you see the video it is amazing," she said.

"The designer of the chair commented that he had never seen anyone so young be so responsive.

"You can see him figuring out how it works. It proves he will benefit from it."

Susanna - who is a junior doctor in palliative care at Northern General Hospital - fell when she was pregnant, meaning she damaged her placenta.

She went for scans which showed nothing untoward - but when George was four months old it was clear something wasn't right.

After more tests it transpired that George has lost the use of about a quarter of his brain, leaving him with paralysis down one side of his body.

"We don't know how much learning difficulty he is going to have," said Susanna.

"But all the evidence shows that the earlier children are able to move independently the better it is for their all round development."

The chair - which will last George until he is ten years old - can be used indoors and outdoors, on grass and even on a beach.

Surprisingly, like many other recommended aids for disabled children, it is not provided by the NHS.

But Susanna and her partner Andrew Siddall believe the whole family would benefit from the chair - especially George's seven-year-old brother Tommy.

"For George, the chair would enable him to reach his potential," said Susanna.

"It would just really aid his development and help him come on in lots of areas.

"But for his brother it would mean they would be able to play together in the park.

"At the moment George just sits on our laps but the chair would make him more fun for Tommy.

"And as a family it would be nice to see George making decisions for himself rather than him be completely reliant on us.

"At the moment I am just really keen to tap into George's full potential - I just want to make sure he gets as far as he can."

To donate to George's fund visit www.gofundme.com/GetGeorgeMoving.