THE plight of a three-year-old Ghanaian boy who desperately needs life-saving surgery, has been taken on by a Shipston doctor.

Dr David Williams met Ethan Suglo while out visiting his daughter who was volunteering in the country.

The little boy suffers from exomphalos, a condition where the intestines and sometimes other organs, such as the liver, form outside the abdomen. He desperately needs an operation that is not available in his home country.

"I was shocked when I saw Ethan and said to his dad I would do what I could to help. In England he would have been operated on in the first week of life and probably had no further medical problems.

"I initially tried to arrange surgery in Ghana or a local country but it soon became apparent that the facilities and technical knowledge were not available there," he said.

Fortunately, High Grant, a paediatric surgeon at the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, has agreed to take on Ethan’s case, with surgery pencilled in for June, but we need to cover the costs which could be £30,000.

Dr Williams has found a charity, Willing and Abel, which has promised £10,000, and he has been busy fundraising to try and raise £25,000 for the air fares, surgery and nursing care at the hospital after the operation. Ethan will be in the John Radcliffe for at least three weeks. Charles, Ethan’s dad, will accompany him throughout his stay, leaving Bless, his Mother and his brother and sister in Akatsi, Ghana.

"I am keen to do all I can to help Ethan get his life saving surgery. He will probably be staying with us in Stretton-on-Fosse with his dad for a week before surgery and then for two to three months afterwards to recover so hopefully will become a well -known face locally.

The fundraising is being aided by retired Shipston GP Chris Thorogood and his friend, Brian French, who are cycling the 180-mile coast-to-coast Way of the Roses, in Yorkshire, on May 19. They are splitting the fundraising between Ethan's charity and Shipston Home Nursing.

For details of how to donate to Dr Thorogood and Mr French go to: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/ChrisTCoast2Coast

For details of how to donate towards Ethan Suglo's surgery, plus photographs of the little boy, go to: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SomeoneSpecial/ethan