A toddler starved of oxygen at birth has learned to say “mumma”.

Three-and-a-half-year-old Aiden Mitchell has cerebral palsy after suffering brain damage.

Following specialist and intensive treatment, courtesy of generous fundraising campaigns, Aiden learned to say two new words in 2017 - more and mumma.

His parents, Fleur and Keith Mitchell, have raised more than £11,000 to fund specialist equipment, hippotherapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and trips to America for intensive support.

Aiden, from Witham, learned the words while being helped at the neurological and physical abilitation centre in California.

Mrs Mitchell said: “It was a busy year. There’s a team we went to see over in the States for three weeks and Aiden managed to learn to say a few new words when he was out there – more and mumma.

“He’s got stronger all over, he’s a bit more stocky now, has more head control and is getting better at weight bearing. We are going out to America twice in 2018, once towards the start of the year and once near the end.

“It costs about £10,000, including flights, travel and car hire.”

The couple have to raise about $7,000 for the therapy, then pay for flights, care hire and accommodation themselves, which is roughly £10,000.

They are now hoping to invest in an Eye Gaze for Aide, so he will be able to communicate by focusing on parts of a screen.

Mrs Mitchell said: “Aiden has also been doing horse riding hippotherapy since he was 18 months.

“It makes a real difference, he is able to do things like tummy time on a horse and he usually rides the same one each time. There is something about the bond between animals and children.”

Aiden’s parents are hoping to branch out in 2018 and increase the number of people raising money for Aiden, rather than asking the same people for support.

Mrs Mitchell added: “There are some people doing half marathons for us in 2018, some people from Cofunds in Witham who will do an 84-mile walk over a weekend, that will be in May.

“We do a big annual raffle and cake sale and we will try and do a ball for him, I imagine that will be like planning a wedding again.”

To donate visit just4children.org/children-helped2016/the-amazing-aiden.