A young boy is about to have his dream gift after a plumber covered the cost so he could be fitted with a bionic arm.

Eight-year-old Alex, from Lancashire, was born without a right forearm, but now the young amputee is about to have a new state-of-the-art limb in its place.

It’s something he has always wanted, but bionics don’t come cheap, the one Alex had his eye on was £13,000.

His family launched a fundraiser to try to raise the money, they were shocked when James Anderson saw the appeal and donated a huge sum of money.

"I am just shocked," Alex told BBC News.

"My biggest dream has finally come true. I was more than surprised when I found out I would have an arm - I nearly cried.”

Alex had been on the NHS waiting list for more than three years so he could be fitted with a prosthetic arm.

But when his parents, Dionna and Robin, from Oswaldtwistle, took him to an event he was given the opportunity to try the “Hero Arm” manufactured by Open Bionics.

Alex was never keen on wearing prosthetics, but when the bionic arm was fastened to his elbow his mum said there was a “surreal shock”.

"We want him to be able to play like every other child does. We had to make our little boy's dreams come true," she said.

Dionna and Robin knew how happy their son would be if he had the arm, but they couldn’t afford it.

Determined to make Alex’s dream come true they launched a crowdfund appeal to raise the £13,000.

The fundraiser caught the attention of a local plumber, James Anderson, who donated a staggering £12,000 towards the new arm.

Alex is set to have his new Hero Arm completed within the next ten weeks, as an added bonus he can also pick his own design.

"I am looking forward to fishing, holding my cup without spilling it, and fighting with my dad of course," Alex said.

"My birthday is coming up soon- so it is basically an early present.”

Anderson, who runs his own charity Depher supporting others across the country, said he “fell in love” with Alex as soon as he met him.

"This is exactly what we were set up to do," he added.

[ The average prosthesis lasts no more than 5 years. An amputee has to change it after a course of 5 years whether it is worn out or not. ]