A disabled boy has been told a dream holiday he thought had been cancelled is back on.

Wheelchair-bound Matthew Berry, ten, was devastated when the trip to see koalas and kangaroos in Australia was called off after the Children's Wish Foundation withdrew an offer of £3,000.

But one of the charity's British trustees has written Matthew a cheque for £4,000 to save the day.

Matthew's mother Sue Berry said: "It's super news. This woman has shown us extreme kindness and this holiday will be something that Matthew will always remember and can tell his friends about."

Mrs Berry found out just a few days before Christmas that the foundation had ceased to operate in the UK, leaving the family, of Mill Road Avenue, Angmering, with a £4,000 shortfall for the trip.

She was overjoyed when the cheque - donated in memory of the unnamed trustee's husband Matthew, who died aged 37 - arrived out of the blue.

Mrs Berry said: "She felt distressed we had lost out on money we had been promised.

"She wrote a cheque as a personal gift to me. Her husband was called Matthew and so is my son.

"I don't know whether she will be able to recoup the money from the Children's Wish Foundation but she said that getting the money was not important.

"What was important was the dream holiday would go ahead as promised."

Matthew, a pupil at St Margaret's Primary School, Angmering, has a rare muscle-wasting disorder.

Three years ago he told his mother he would love to visit Australia Zoo, where his favourite wildlife programme The Crocodile Hunter is filmed.

Matthew said: "I'm really excited and very grateful. I can't wait to go to Australia Zoo."

Mrs Berry, whose other son Andrew, 12, suffers from autism, had originally contacted children's charity Dreams Come True before approaching the Children's Wish Foundation. Both pledged £3,000 towards the £11,000 trip.

Another charity, Happy Days, offered a further £1,000 and Mrs Berry and her friends have been busy saving money so she and Andrew could accompany Matthew.

Matthew's condition, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, is a genetic disorder causing progressive muscle weakness as the muscle cells break down and die.

About 100 boys are born with the condition in the UK each year but girls can also be affected in very rare cases.

By the age of 11, boys with Duchenne become wheelchair-users. By their late teens or early 20s, the condition is severe enough to shorten life expectancy.

Matthew, who has trouble feeding himself, began using an electric wheelchair just over a year ago.

A spokeswoman for Dreams Come True said: "Matthew's dream trip has been fulfilled."