THE family of a seven-year-old boy born with one arm is fundraising to get him a "fully functional robotic arm".

Brodie Foster from Woolavington hopes to get a bionic Hero Arm costing £20,000, from Bristol-based company Open Bionics.

The bionic 3D-printed device, which has moving fingers controlled by the muscles in Brodie's arm, would allow him to "use a knife and fork, put toothpaste on his toothbrush, play bat and ball, and own a pair of lace-up shoes that he can tie himself", his mum Naomi said.

Brodie has always "astonished" his parents by "finding his own way of doing things one-handed", however, they believe he would now benefit from the chance to hone his fine motor skills.

Naomi said: "Now he's at the age of really starting to notice he is different from others.

"We have, at times, noticed his confidence dropping which is very upsetting to see and as his parents, we will do anything to help him do everything he wants and should do, in life."

So far the family's Just Giving page has raised £1,750 raised of the £20,000 goal. Donations can be made at gofundme.com/f/brodies-hero-arm-fund.

The bionic arm is designed for those with below-elbow limb differences, and when Brodie turns eight he will be an eligible candidate for the "life-changing" prosthetic. 

His mum said: "He would get quite a few years out of it as it has a socket at the top which will expand as he grows, and it comes with a free refit size anyway."

Brodie's parents discovered he had a limb difference during their 20-week pregnancy scan "with no medical explanation". 

Despite their initial fears, Brodie's parents say he has "thrived".

Mum Naomi said: "Up until now there has been very little that we could do apart from encourage him and remind him not to give up."

She added: "There are lots of adaptive solutions for having only one hand, but the prosthetics that are available on the NHS would be more of a hindrance than a help, so when we first saw what open bionics were doing with the Hero Arms, we knew that this was the greatest option available."

The NHS offered "toe to hand" surgery, removing a toe from each foot and attaching it to his hand. The family decided not to opt for this, as mum Naomi felt she didn't want to "change his feet as well".

Asked how the arm will change Brodie's life, Naomi said: "It is things like monkey bars, and I know it sounds silly to other people, but if you just see his face when his friends are doing the monkey bars, it does get to him."

She added: "He is the most kind, caring and hilarious little boy who lights up the room and puts a smile on everyone's face.

"He gets questioned a lot about his hand, which we've called his Lucky Fin since birth, and because he also suffered third-degree burns on his other hand as a baby, leaving it heavily scarred, he is also questioned about that.

"We want to be able to give him a hand he can be proud of, and show off to the world so all the questions are no longer a problem for him."

Brodie's friend has kicked off the fundraising by doing a "sponsored sparring session at his local gym". Meanwhile, two of his friends are doing a sponsored three-legged walk, and his cousin is doing Sweatember, an entire month of workouts.