A YOUNG boy is one step closer to having the specialist bed he needs after youngsters braved the cold to take part in a fun run to raise money for him.

Joshua Denton, of Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham, was left brain damaged when he suffered an epileptic seizure aged just three.

Now eight-years-old, the Evergreen Primary School pupil is unable to talk or walk properly.

The youngster is quickly outgrowing the specialist bed he currently uses and a replacement, which is unavailable on the NHS, costs £10,000.

Joshua’s parents, Scott Denton and Joanna Hall, have spent more than two years fundraising for him and today's festive fun run is the latest event to help them reach their target.

Mr Denton said: “We arranged the fun run a couple of months ago to raise money for Joshua’s new bed.

“We all met at 10.30am, lots of the kids had Santa hats on, and took part in a 1.5km fun run.

“It was a mixture of family and friends and people who had seen the event advertised on Facebook who wanted to come along.

“Joshua took part as well, even though it was freezing.

“We had a bit of a do at Middleton-in-Teesdale WMC after with a bouncy castle for the kids and some bacon rolls and that was good fun.”

Joshua is set to be the first person to benefit from The Bradley Lowery Foundation, which was set up in Bradley’s memory to help buy equipment or medical treatment not available on the NHS.

The foundation has pledged to donate £5,000 towards the cost of the bed once the family have raised £5,000.

They also hope to continue fundraising to turn Joshua’s bedroom into a sensory room, costing another £20,000.

Mr Denton added: “At the moment we’ve raised around £3,000, so we are well on the way to the first £5,000 target.

“Joshua is already a tall lad, but the new bed will last him till he’s 6ft 1in. Once we’ve raised enough for the bed we will keep going so we can transform his room into a sensory room.

“We would just like to thank everybody who came out for the fun run with us, it’s a busy time of year for everyone and it’s cold so we are really thankful to those who came out to help us reach our target.”

Mr Denton and his family have a coffee morning planned for March and a charity football match taking place in the summer next year.

For details about The Bradley Lowery Foundation or to donate visit justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/thebradleyloweryfoundation/joshuadenton or search for Joshua’s Journey on Facebook.