Excited schoolchildren and a caring coffee shop are among those to have got our fundraising ball rolling as we aim to make life a little easier for the terribly-badly injured former Paratrooper and his family.

And the growing support of his home town has already put a smile on the face of the spirited 23-year-old who lost both of his legs in an Afghanistan landmine blast.

Ben's mum Diane Dernie, of Wheatley Hills, said that her son is making rapid progress as he continues his lengthy rehabilitation at a specialist military centre in Surrey - while news of our appeal has gone down very well.

"Ben's doing brilliantly at Hedley Court," she said. "I'm finding it very difficult but he is doing absolutely fantastic - his talking is really coming on.

"They're working on his upper body strength now so that he can do more for himself. All of Ben's problems were written down last week and there were pages and pages. It was a bit of a wake up call and to see it all written down in black and white was very hard but Ben's doing really well."

Mrs Dernie, who is awaiting news of a Government review into compensation packages after her son was awarded just £152,150 by the Ministry of Defence, admitted that the thought of Doncaster doing their bit for Ben was a very humbling one.

"His sister brought it (the Free Press] down," she said. "He read about the appeal and he's absolutely over the moon. He was laughing at his brother's picture in the paper.

"He cannot wait to come home," she added. "For all of us it's all we can think about. It's fabulous to think that everybody is behind him and backing him."

Costa Coffee in the Frenchgate Centre's Waterstones were among the first fundraisers to throw their weight behind the appeal when they launched a coffee bean counting contest last Friday.

And manager Karen Morris, of Rossington, said the competition, which ends next Thursday, was the least she could do. "We'd managed to raise £140 by Monday," she said. "We've done this because the majority of people are that incensed about what has happened and just want to do their little bit.

"I've seen the coverage about Ben and wanted to do something to help. I'm a mum myself with three sons and my brother served in Bosnia. Every day when there's a knock on the door or the phone rings you're heart is in your mouth.

"A friend of ours also became paralysed from the neck down and I know what an upheaval it will be for Ben's parents to get him home."
Free Press editor Graeme Huston said: "We're well on the way to sorting out a suitable vehicle to help Ben's parents get out and about with him when he gets home.

"We're in talks with a major manufacturer about a vehicle and the modifications it will need and hope to be able to reveal details of the fund target amount soon."

Meanwhile, children at Intake Primary School enjoyed a non-uniform day last Friday to raise money for Ben.


To make a donation to the Benjamin James Parkinson Trust visit the Doncaster branch of Yorkshire Bank on St Sepulchre Gate. Cheques can be made payable to 'Ben Parkinson' or 'Ben Parkinson Trust'. Cheques can be sent to to PO Box 17, 19 St Sepulchre Gate, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN1 1SJ. If you have a fundraiser planned call the Free Press for pictures and publicity on 01302-347260