Battling Chloe to carry Olympic Torch

A GIRL who has suffered an immobilising condition her whole life has been chosen to carry the Olympic Torch.
Chloe Osborne, 13, of Broadway, Grimsby suffers with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth.

Chloe Osborne

This means Chloe is not able to walk more than a few feet without becoming tired.

However, defying the odds and out of sheer determination, Chloe will carry the Olympic Torch in Sutton-on-Sea on Wednesday, June 27, the day after celebrations to mark its arrival in Cleethorpes.

Community helps 'Rays' funds for brave little Rio

A COMMUNITY came together for a fundraiser in support of a "very special little boy".

The event, at St Martin's Church Hall on Saturday, was held to raise money for baby Rio Jacombe.

DIGGING DEEP: A fundraiser for Rio Jacombe was held at St Martin's Church Hall, Nunsthorpe. Picture: Abby Ruston. Buy this photo at www.thisisphotosales.co.uk/grimsby or by contacting 08444 060910

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As reported, he was born prematurely with trachea bronchial malacia, a condition where the airway is soft and weak.

Thankfully, the condition is curable with treatment but Rio, who was born five weeks early and weighing just 3lb 11oz, also has Down's Syndrome and holes in his heart.

His mum, Nicola Hallett, desperately wants to create a sensory room at her home in Milton Road, Grimsby, for Rio – who is now 26 weeks old – after seeing him smile for the first time while receiving treatment at a similar facility at Sheffield's Children's Hospital.