Ref. 29103-15LITTLE Brandon Humphries dreams of being able to walk like his friends.

Now his parents have launched a campaign to help the four-year-old, who has cerebral palsy.

Tracey, 38, and Tony, 42, from The Prinnels, West Swindon, want to raise £4,000 to take their son to a special school in Hungary.

Brandon said: "I really want to walk. My teachers are helping me and sometimes it hurts. But I don't care because I'm getting there."

The money will pay for a trip to the Peto Institute, in Budapest, which provides a unique therapy to treat cerebral palsy, called conductive education.

Cerebral palsy is a brain disorder which affects coordination of the limbs. Conductive education aims to stimulate the brain to send messages to parts of the body affected by the disorder in Brandon's case his legs and feet.

Mrs Humphries said: "It is heartbreaking to hear your little boy say 'I can't walk, mummy.' Brandon is very bright, so he gets frustrated when he can't play outside or kick a football."

If the family's appeal reaches its target, Brandon will spend next month at the Peto Institute and undergo an intensive form of physiotherapy to gain greater control of his legs.

Conductive education has already worked wonders for Brandon, who could only crawl six months ago.

Then his parents heard about a charitable school in Hereford, called Megan Baker House, which is run by Hungar-ians trained at the Peto Institute.

Since Brandon started attending classes last June, he has progressed from a crawl to a slow walk, with the aid of tripod-style sticks.

Private centres specialising in the therapy were set up in Cardiff and London in 1992. In contrast, Megan Baker House is a charity and Brandon has classes at the school twice a week free of charge.

His 'conductor' Eleonora Tamasne, who trained at the Peto Institute, believes Brandon will benefit from being taught there because the courses are more intensive.

She said: "Brandon is the ideal candidate for conductive education because he is so motivated. I would love to spend more time with him, but our school doesn't offer full-day lessons."

Local businesses are already backing Brandon's appeal.

Trax gym, in Sheppard Street, donated £400 to Megan Baker House from a sponsored 'liftathon', which involved weight lifting for 24 hours. Now the gym is planning a walkathon for members and the public on March 29.

The pre-school Brandon attends, Headstarts Nursery, is also giving staff the opportunity to dress down for £1 on Fridays.

To make a donation call Mrs Humphries on 01793 877301 or 0795 7926648.

Victoria Tagg