East Lothian: Three-year-old boy cycles 10km to raise money for another child's life saving cancer treatment

Ruari plans to cycle 10km to his nursery on Good Friday to raise money for charity.

Three-year-old Ruari began learning to ride without stabilisers in February and has been adamant since then he wants to cycle the 10km to his nursery.

His mother, Sarah, 33, told the Evening News they couldn't quite believe how quickly he learned to ride.

“He took to it straight away,” she said.

"On the day he first rode it he said he wanted to cycle to nursery and we were a bit like ‘oh it’s maybe a wee bit far’, so suggested we could do it some day once he’d had a bit more practice but we've pretty much been out every day with him and we actually think he can probably do it now, he wasn’t dropping it!”

Much to Ruari’s delight his parents have planned for him to make the journey all the way from their home in Longniddry to Pear Tree Nursery in Haddington next week, on Good Friday.

Sarah works as a community fundraiser in children’s hospices across Scotland and thinks she probably put the idea of fundraising in her son’s head.

She added: “He knew straight away that he wanted to do the cycle as a challenge for charity and so we suggested Flora’s Fight.

Ruari is just three-years-old and started cycling without his stabilisers in February.

"The kids don’t really know each other but Ruari really liked the idea, my husband is friends with Flora’s dad.”

Three-year-old Flora was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in January 2021, and three months later her family received the devastating news that she had high-risk neuroblastoma.

This is an aggressive form of childhood cancer which has a 40-50 per cent chance of long-term survival.

Her family are aiming to raise £312,000 in total by August for lifesaving treatment in New York.

Flora was diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorder in January 2021, and three months later her family were told she had high-risk neuroblastoma

Ruari and his parents initially set a target of £100 on his JustGiving page which they planned to donate to Flora’s funds, but within just a few days they had smashed their goal.

The pot is currently sitting at over £750 and Sarah now hopes they can hit £1,000 before the big day.

She said: “Every morning we’ve been telling him how many pennies people have been giving him on the JustGiving page and amazed, he’s like ‘250 pennies, gosh that’s a lot’.

Ruari has raised over £750 so far.

"So he’s really excited, he’s going into nursery demanding pennies off people as well!

"I started it three of four days ago and I’ve already had to increase the goal that we’re aiming for four times, so fingers crossed we make it to £1,000”

She added: “We’re really proud of him.

"Hopefully we do manage it as 10km is a long way for a three-year-old, but we'll be pushing him towards the end if he starts to flag and there will be a wee welcoming committee waving him in at the nursery so he’s really excited and we’re just super proud of him.”

If you would like to donate to Ruari’s fundraiser you can do so here.

A message from the Editor:Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.