A LITTLE boy has raised hundreds of pounds for the neo-natal unit where he spent the first 16 weeks of his life.

Luke Robinson, aged three, has raised a whopping £500 for the unit in the Royal Bolton Hospital by undertaking the challenge of correctly guessing all the numbers up to 10 shown to him at random by his play therapist.

Luke was born 15 weeks premature, weighing 1Ib 12oz at birth, and spent 16 weeks fighting for his life in the unit.

Mum Jessica Robinson, aged 38, said: "It was very frightening at the time but the staff there were brilliant. They really helped. They kept us informed and tried to reassure us."

Mrs Robinson was able to bring Luke home a week after what had been his due date and he has grown into a bubbly little boy who sometimes has his family in stitches with his funny observations.

Mrs Robinson, of Greenfold Lane, Westhoughton, said: "We read an article in the Bolton Evening News about the appeal for the Children's Hospital Appeal Trust.

"We thought about all that had been done for us and we thought it would nice to do something in return."

Luke has attended the Children's Opportunity Group at Lowndes Street Nursery, Lowndes Street, Bolton, for a year to take part in the inclusive play sessions. He is due to start at Grosvenor Nursery School in September.

Luke has two brothers, Carl, aged 13, and Daniel, aged 22 months.

Mrs Robinson said Carl was born on time but she suffered a miscarriage a year before Luke was born and needed further treatment.

Doctors believed rare complications meant she could not carry a baby to full term, although this was not discovered at the time.

Three months after Luke was born, Mrs Robinson became pregnant again but lost the baby at 22 weeks.

When she became pregnant after that, doctors were able to cure her problem and she was able to carry Daniel to full term.

Mrs Robinson said it was wonderful to have her family after the problems she had had, and she hoped the money Luke raised would help other mothers and their babies.