A football-loving Cilgerran schoolboy who dreams of scoring a goal for the village team has received a massive boost from the Welsh national side.

Eight-year-old Trystan Beard suffers from cerebral palsy and currently uses a walking frame.

But after he met up with the Welsh team at a training session they decided to donate their match fees from the game against Azerbaijan to Trystan’s charity appeal, enabling fundraisers to smash through their £40,000 target.

His family had launched Trystan’s Goal4Glory in July to raise funds for a specialist life-changing operation and intensive rehabilitation unavailable on the NHS.

The local community staged a series of fundraising events before Gareth Bale and his fellow players saw the fund through to its formidable target.

“We can’t quite believe it and we cannot thank them enough,” said Trystan’s mum Anwen, who works at Cardigan’s Aldi supermarket.

“We have just about got ourselves up off the floor in shock and the tissue boxes are empty.

“It has all happened so quickly and we will now be in touch with the surgeons at Bristol where the operation will be carried out and with Trystan’s physiotherapy team.”

Trystan’s dad Tom, who works at Cardigan Sand and Gravel at Penparc, tweeted: “You have just changed my son’s life forever. Don’t know how much it means to us as a family. What a team.

“Will be forever grateful for this amazing donation. Thank you so, so much to everyone who made it possible.”

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