DONATIONS continue to pour in for a struggling family who were struggling to pay for Christmas because of crippling travel costs to and from hospital.

When Jasper Holt was born in April 2013, he had a cleft palate, conjoined kidneys, a small jaw and grey matter heterotopia - a neurological disorder caused by clumps of grey matter being located in the wrong part of the brain, and has spent the vast majority of his short life in and out of hospital.

He has since been diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, a condition which means cells in his body are unable to produce the energy they need to function.

Now four, Jasper was admitted to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool last month and despite some help with accommodation and petrol costs from the government, Gemma and Jeff, along with their six-year-old son Oscar, have been struggling.

Their plight has attracted attention far and wide with donations pouring in to help give them a decent family Christmas.

A local organisation has contacted The Mail directly to arrange for £200 to be given to the Holts. The money will be transferred to them today.

The Holts' plight has also attracted cash pledges of £850 via a Crowdfunder page HERE along with £1,000 from the Lake District Farmers Armstrong Family Charitable Trust, bringing the total to more than £2,000.

Mr Holt, of Plover Gardens on Walney, has posted a poignant thank you in the form of a song on his Facebook page.

He said: "A couple of days ago I was in despair about how I would get by over Xmas and now thanks to everyone's help I have some money to fall back on and help when these things happen.

I will use it responsibly and to help Jasper with certain things. But mainly I will keep it for times like this where we've been separated and having to pay to all be together and Oscar still having a normal life at school."

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