A CHARITY night at Funnybone Comedy Club in Westbourne raised plenty of chuckles… and £5,000 to buy a special wheelchair for a disabled youngster.

Local youngster Jamie Kelly suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy and, despite his condition, he leads an active life with a keen interest in sport, music, drama and outdoor activities.

His sister Jade, who works behind the bar at the Pig & Whistle and Funnybone’s adjacent home at Centre Stage, organised the evening and Michael Callaghan, owner of the comedy venue, said: “Jade has been collecting money for the last six months and all our regulars have been very generous. But if we were going to get Jamie the chair quickly we had to do something a little bigger.”

The money will go towards a Levo C3 sit-to-stand powered chair which will enable him to raise himself to a standing position several times a day to help maintain his muscle length, bone strength, digestive system and respiratory system.

The sell-out night featured three comedians, including Andre King, who was so taken by the fundraising that he offered to come down and perform for anyone who would put up the money at a company party, wedding or even a children’s party.

The winning bid of £600 came from Shaun Woods of Astute Marketing, who will feature Andre at the company’s Christmas party.

Support has also come from the Alliss Merlo charity and the NHS wheelchair service and Jamie will hopefully have the chair shortly.

He said: “I would just like to say a big thank-you to everyone who came along and showed their support in helping me get the new chair.”