Sick toddler whose organs were 'wrong way round' takes centre stage at football team mascot

A toddler from St Neots who beat the odds after falling seriously ill while on holiday in Crete, has taken centre stage as the mascot of his dad's football team.

Harry Jackson was given just a 20% chance of survival by surgeons after he was struck down with a twisted intestine last October, which led to septic shock.

He underwent emergency surgery in Crete and was flown back to the UK after a fundraising campaign was set up to help his family with bills.

Friends and supporters of Potton United Football Club, where Harry's dad, Gary is assistant manager set up a GoFundMe page. It raised thousands of pounds to help the family return to the UK.

On Saturday, Harry lead the first team out onto the pitch as their mascot.

It was a chance for his parents to say thank you to the community who had rallied around them at a very difficult time.

Gary Jackson said knowing that they had such strong support had made a huge difference.

He said: "It meant everything because it meant we could get him home. The reason he's in such good shape now is because we got him home when we did, and it's with thanks to all these people for that."

Mr Jackson said it was remarkable that an onlooker now "wouldn't know there was anything wrong with Harry" because he had made such a good recovery and was so lively.

Harry's mum, Annie Cerveno, said she had been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers and Saturday's match with Harry as mascot was a chance to say thank you.

She said: "There's strangers here that we've never met before that have been thinking of Harry and praying for him, and donating for him. So we're just looking forward to seeing them and saying thank you more than anything."

A close friend and fellow member of Potton Football Club, Gareth Davies, helped to set up the fundraising campaign. He said it was brilliant to have Harry back at home, on the pitch and on the mend.

He said: "He's a permanent fixture at the place. He's always running around on the pitch with his dad, happy as Larry, with his mum behind chasing after him."

Mr Davies said he had started fundraising because he knew the couple would need support to get Harry home. However, he had been bowled over by the generosity of the local community and the footballing community.

He said: "It's not just the club, it's the non league football community in general. Everybody rallied round, everybody raised money."

He added: "A lot of football clubs are scratching for money because there's not a lot around in non leagues, but players donated their wages, everybody chipped in and it just goes to show that at this level of football, everybody pulls together."