IT is the gift every young boy dreams of – a shiny red trike, but this one is a bit special because it enables a four-year-old Stroud boy to start building the muscles he needs to walk.

Stonehouse chartered accountants GriffithClarke kindly donated the trike to Toby Dinwoodie, who was born with tuberous sclerosis, a rare genetic condition that caused benign tumours to grow on his heart and brain.

Thankfully the tumours on Toby’s heart have regressed, but the brain tumours mean that he now suffers from epilepsy and has not developed at the same rate as other children his age.

He cannot walk and struggles to communicate, which he naturally finds extremely frustrating.

With the aid of the trike however, he will be able to start building up the muscles in his legs, which will hopefully one day allow him to walk and play with his seven-year-old sister Daisy.

Designed by the Gloucester-based firm Tomcat, which specialises in custom-made equipment for children and adults with special needs, the trike boasts a unique design that caters for all of Toby’s requirements.

It has a tag along bar so that the bike can clip onto his parents’ bike allowing him to participate in family bike rides, and also has a release button for his father Ryan Dinwoodie to use if Toby has an epileptic episode and needs to disconnect his feet from the pedals quickly.

Toby’s mother, Jenny Seeley, said: “Tomcat thought of everything, Toby is just going to love it.”

“He has tried it out, and we were a little apprehensive as he cannot walk, but he sat on it and we pushed him along, and because of the natural motion he just pedalled.

“It means everything to us to receive this gift from GriffithClarke, and we are so appreciative of how carefully it has been constructed by Tomcat.

“Usually if we go for a walk or take Toby’s sister to school he just has to sit in the pushchair so he is going to love a different form of transportation outside.

“Something that makes him feel more like he fits in and helps him physically is amazing.”

She added: “We can’t put our gratitude into words – we are really touched emotionally by the kindness and generosity of GriffithClarke, they don’t even know us and they have given us so much.”

Julian Owens, a partner at GriffithClarke, said: “We could see how beneficial these trikes were for children with special needs, they gave them confidence and enthusiasm; they were life-changing.

“We decided we wanted to be a part of this, so we called them up and they found the Dinwoodie family.

“As a successful local company, this is GriffithClarke’s way of giving back to our community.”

For more information about GriffithClarke visit their website on www.griffithclarke.com or give them a call on 01453 822818.

For more information about Tomcat visit their website on www.tomcatspecialneeds.co.uk