A fundraising campaign to help a little boy have surgery that could change his life is showing no signs of slowing.

Five-year-old Oliver Poinsignon is due to have his operation on Friday and there is now less than £4,000 to go to hit the target.

The youngster’s family, friends and supporters from across Sussex have spent months raising the £52,000 needed to cover the cost of surgery and the expensive equipment and follow-up therapy he will need.

Staff at the Mears Group’s Brighton branch raised £135 towards the campaign after organising a raffle.

Tyla Head, resident liaison officer and call centre supervisor, said: “Mears Brighton were very happy to support Oliver and his family with fundraising for his operation.

“The donations and support shown by members of staff were overwhelming, even though it was only a small donation in the scheme of things, every little helps towards giving Oliver a better quality of life.

“We wish Oliver the very best of luck with his operation and we hope he has a speedy recovery.”

Oliver’s dad Jean Marc Poinsignon, who lives in Brighton, helped boost funds after spending the day dressed as children’s favourite Peppa Pig at the Asda store in Hollingbury, Brighton.

Oliver has cerebral palsy and finds it difficult to walk, jump and run because of extremely tight and painful muscles in his legs. This will get worse as he gets older and grows.

The operation, called selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), will help him walk more easily.

SDR is not routinely available on the NHS and, because it is so expensive and still relatively new, it will normally only be given the go-ahead following an application for funding if all other options have been explored.

Oliver lives with his mum Julie Langmaid in Ashurst, near Steyning.

The campaign for Oliver is backed by The Argus, with the paper’s charity, The Argus Appeal, donating £5,000.

The amount raised currently stands at just over £48,100 and the fundraising will continue until the target is hit.

Any money raised over the target will be donated to the Tree of Hope charity, which is helping with the fundraising campaign.

Anyone interested in making a donation can contact the campaign via Facebook SDR4Oliver or visit www.justgiving.com/SDR4Oliver.