A FUNDRAISING page has been set up to help the Hereford family of a two-year-old boy who will need to have his fingers, toes and thumbs amputated.

Finley Amos contracted septicaemia from the meningitis bacteria and was left fighting for his life.

His parents, Matt Amos and Sarah Bonner, said he is now through the worst of it but they will have to wait and see how much of his fingers, toes and thumbs will need to be removed.

Matt, 39, said: "On June 2 he woke up as usual. About an hour later he was really floppy. He was being sick. He didn't have any energy. Normally Finley is Mr energetic, he is Mr Motivator and you can't slow him down for love nor money.

"His mum noticed it and rang the doctors. I came home from work. We took him to the doctors and they said he had tonsillitis. But he had different colour lips and there was a five percent chance of septicaemia so they sent him to A&E."

He was put in a coma and taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital.

Matt, who works at Taylor Lane Timber Frame Ltd, said: "That is where it was all hands on deck. It was after two nights that they realised he was going to survive. They thought he was at death's door."

Meningitis Research Foundation say the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease are common and live naturally at the back of the nose and throat.

At any one time, one in ten of us carries the bacteria for weeks or months without ever knowing that they are there, and for most of us this is harmless because, fortunately, most of us have natural resistance.

Only a small fraction of people who are exposed to meningococcal bacteria fall ill with the disease.

Septicaemia is the blood poisoning form of meningococcal disease.

Matt said: "It is surprising how fast it happened. From when he was first taken into hospital and put in a coma at around 12pm, by 6/6.30pm he was just covered in blood blistered spots.

"It is one of those things- you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy."

Finley was born in February 2015, so just missed out on the MenB vaccine being offered as part of the routine immunisation schedule, which was introduced later in 2015.

Finley has two brothers, Brandon, nine, and Jack, 16. His mum Sarah, 22, works at B&Q and they live at The Furlongs in Hereford.

He is currently at Birmingham Children's Hospital and has started physiotherapy.

Friends have started a Crowdfunding page to give the family extra support. To donate click here