A POLICE officer from Poole rallied a team of fundraisers to cycle 81 miles for his two-year-old son with a rare condition.

Jay Griffin, who works for the traffic department of Dorset Police, was on a mission to raise £2,500 for his son, Bobby. The poorly toddler was born with a condition called chromosome 14q deletion syndrome, as well as gastro-esophageal reflux disease. The former is so rare, only 12 other known cases of the condition exist.

As a result, Bobby is often sick up to 20 times a day and is not able to sit or stand unaided. It is also likely he will grow up with learning difficulties and physical disabilities – although Bobby’s parents are yet to find out from doctors how extreme these will be.

Jay said the money raised from the cycle ride would go towards new equipment for Bobby and building him a wet room and upstairs bedroom.

“We originally set a target of £1,000 and have since raised over £3,000, which is just incredible. It’s so heartwarming, the generosity of people.

“The cycle ride was absolutely fantastic, and we had support throughout the trip with people waving us on along the route. The majority of riders were serving and retired police officers. We started at 9am from Cobbs Quay at Hamworthy and rode to Southampton General Hospital and back again. We arrived in Poole around 6pm.

“We all started as a group and finished as a group. My 60-year-old dad was part of the team, and he’d never ridden as far as that before, so he was very emotional at the end.”

Jay added how the lives of Bobby and his wife, Leanne, would be improved with the new facilities. “He’s two and a half years old now, but he’s still very floppy like a newborn. We do a lot of physiotherapy with him and he’s just starting to build strength in his neck.

“Having this specialised equipment and home adaptations will make our lives and Bobby’s so much easier.”