A young boy with chronic lung disease has been making rainbow loom bands during lockdown to raise funds for frontline NHS staff.
Christopher Storey, 11, has spent much of his childhood in and out of hospital after being diagnosed with chronic lung disease and an immune deficiency as a baby.
With older sister Charlotte, 15, too having the hereditary conditions, the family - including mum Carolyn, 38, dad Richard, 40, and brother Matthew, 17 - has been isolating at their Chester-le-Street home since lockdown was imposed in March.
After watching countless boxsets and playing every game in the house, they stumbled upon their collection of loom bands - a craze which took the world by storm in 2014.
Mum Carolyn said: "Christopher's condition means he is susceptible to the coronavirus so we have all been shielding to keep him and Charlotte safe.
"I actually removed them both from school a week before lockdown because we could sense how serious the situation with coronavirus was getting.
"I remember Christopher saying he was bored and we had kept a lot of the loom band materials so I said why don't we get them down for something to do. Christopher wanted to do rainbow bracelets to put in the window with the NHS pictures they have done."
After putting up a post on Facebook of their creations, Carolyn was inundated with people asking to buy a band.
This gave Red Rose Primary School pupil the idea of donating the proceeds to the hard-working frontline staff at Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle, where staff have treated him so well over the years.
Carolyn said: "It just snowballed out of nothing.
"A lady on our estate works at a local care home and also wanted to take some in to sell to residents and staff.
"The NHS has done so much for our family. I'm disabled and two of my children have also spent plenty of time in hospital. We rely on the NHS and we owe them a lot."
Christopher has raised more than £100 and is determined to hit his target of £150 soon to help those key workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Carolyn said: "Christopher is aware of the coronavirus situation and watches the news. He saw the NHS was short of PPE and was asking why haven't they got it.
"He'd seen Captain Tom too and he knows how special a service the NHS is.
"I'm so proud of Christopher. He's so caring and polite and it's a fantastic thing for him to do."
Anyone wishing to purchase a band or donate to the cause can contact Carolyn on Facebook or Twitter.
