A small weekly paper in the seaside town of Burnham-on-Sea has raised £5,000 in a fortnight to change the life of a cerebral palsy sufferer.

The Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News, in Somerset, launched a campaign to buy a high-tech Say It Sam machine capable of allowing 46-year-old Trevor Hayes to speak for the first time in his life.

And the news team at the 3,313-circulation weekly were amazed by the quick success of the Make Trevor’s Christmas campaign.

The chance to grant Trevor the present of independence for Christmas pulled on the heartstrings of the paper’s readers and the cash poured in from organisations and individuals around the town.

Reporter Ben Pike, who started the campaign, said: “When you launch ambitious campaigns like this, there is always a part of you that thinks ‘we’ll never get there in time’.

“Fortunately for us, a local medical charity chairman called Tom Ashton rang everyone he knew when he read the story to get money from them.

“He even put the final few pounds on his personal credit card to make sure he got the Say It Sam in time for Christmas.”

The campaign started after a phone call from Trevor’s sister who was appealing for help to keep a machine loaned to the family on trial.

And just two weeks later, at a surprise presentation ceremony, Trevor was handed his very own machine, courtesy of the people of Burnham and Highbridge.

Ben added: “Our photographer Jeff Searle was there when he was presented with the machine and he said everyone started crying. The family are so grateful to everyone involved and are throwing a party for us all in February.

“It’s great that a paper of our size can pull off such a feat.”

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