Boy being fed through tube for six weeks raises cash for charity

But little Rory Kemp has decided to turn his enforced fast into a charity challenge by raising money for those less fortunate than himself.

Rory has an undiagnosed stomach condition and has been instructed by doctors to stop eating completely while they try to work out what's causing his illness.

Instead, the youngster is being fed through a tube – and has to forgo his favourites snacks of crisps and sausages to give his stomach a complete break.

Instead of letting it get him down, Rory has decided to use his situation to raise money for the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

His parents have set up a JustGiving fundraising page, where former First Minister Jack McConnell left a comment describing him as "brave and thoughtful".

And despite setting a modest target of 100, he has already raised more than 1,370 – and still has two weeks to go.

His mum Jenny, 33, a part-time charity worker, said: "I am so proud of him – I can't even give up chocolate for two days.

"He has been dreaming about bacon rolls and we had to change his duvet cover because it had orange circles on it and it reminded him of spaghetti hoops.

"He's not going into the playground at break times in case his tube gets pulled out by accident and he's coming home at lunch so he is not seeing people eat.

"He has moments when he has been really upset and when his sister went to a birthday party he said he didn't want her to eat anything while she was there.

"But when he is upset I show him the website and he sees how much money he has raised and it really helps him."

Rory was diagnosed with a digestive problem when he was three, but has been in remission for two years. However, he was taken into hospital just after Christmas after a relapse.

Doctors believe he has either Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis and have instructed his mum and dad Merlin to keep him off solid foods to give his digestive system a break, instead feeding him a liquid diet through a permanent feeding tube in his nose.

Rory, who lives with his parents and little sister Elspeth, three, in Lochend, decided to help raise money for the Disasters Emergency Committee after learning about the Haiti earthquake at his school, Hermitage Park Primary.

He has become very popular at school after he stood up at an assembly and told everyone why he was wearing a tube. And he has received Get Well cards from pupils and has been taken under the wings of the older primary seven pupils.

Gaye Linklater, headteacher at Hermitage Park Primary, said: "

The whole school is supporting him. He's like a celebrity when he walks through the corridor."

The family have been "stockpiling" Rory's favourite crisps for when he is able to eat again – and he has requested sausage and mash for his first meal.

To donate go to http://www.justgiving.com/roryschallenge.