Last updated 14:05, Friday, 21 November 2008

A BRAVE little boy who came back from the brink has raised more than £1,200 for charity and made a celebrity friend.

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MEETING THE STARS: Reece Finlayson with Emmerdale star Tony Audenshaw who plays Bob Hope

Six-year-old cystic fibrosis sufferer Reece Finlayson, from Barrow, completed the one-mile Mini North Run, while his mum, grandmother and great auntie tackled the 13.2-mile Great North Run.

Together they raised a total of £1,212.50 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, a national charity which funds research into the disease and helps patients and families.

Amazingly, the run was just five months after Reece’s heart stopped for seven minutes.

The youngster spent weeks in hospitals in Barrow, Manchester and London, battling a critical illness that almost claimed his life.

He surprised everyone by returning to Holy Family Catholic Primary School in Barrow in September.

He then wowed people again when his physiotherapist declared him well enough to take part in the charity run in Newcastle in October.

His mum Pamela Burton walked and jogged the event with Reece and they dressed up as pirates.

The next day, Reece cheered on his mum, nana Pam Burton and great auntie Dorothy Skinner as they completed the Great North Run.

On the day of the half-marathon, Reece met Emmerdale actor Tony Audenshaw, who plays Bob Hope in the ITV1 soap.

The star chatted with Reece and signed autographs for him.

Reece also saw other actors from the show, such as Chris Chittell, who plays Eric Pollard, and Tom Lister, who plays Carl King.

Miss Burton, 25, said: “Reece had a great weekend.

“He loves his soaps and that just topped it off for him by meeting Tony Audenshaw, who plays Bob Hope.

“Reece was amazed that he was really there and not just on TV.

“Bob Hope is his favourite character now.

“He was even nicer than his character and brilliant with children.

“Reece loved dressing up as a pirate and he enjoyed the run. He is doing really well.

“It is great to raise so much, we did better than we had hoped. We got a lot of people sponsoring us after the Evening Mail article about Reece. We’d like to thank everyone who sponsored us.”

Miss Burton also thanked Lesh Lane sub post office, the Ocean chip shop and the Peacock Inn for making sponsorship forms available for people to fill in.

Reece also took part in the mini run last year.

He met Emmerdale actress Nicola Wheeler, who plays Nicola De Souza.

Reece fell ill with a rotavirus, which causes gastroenteritis, in May.

While at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital in Pendlebury, his heart stopped beating for seven minutes.

He was revived but medics warned his family his chances of survival were slim. Reece had encephalitis, a brain infection, multiple organ failure and his body was in septic shock.

Doctors said Reece’s only chance was to find a hospital with an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation machine, which gives cardiac and respiratory support.

He was flown to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and started to recover.

He was transferred back to Pendlebury, then Furness General Hospital in July.

He spent 10 weeks in hospital.

That was Reece’s second fight for life. As a baby, he had two cardiac arrests and survived five operations.