Dad 'feels like lottery winner' after search for Tommee Tippee cup for autistic son proves a success

"A father says he feels like he's "won the lottery" after a global search found a cup for his austic son that stopped being made over a decade ago.

Marc's 14-year-old son Ben will only drink from the blue Tommee Tippee cup he has had since a toddler.

The Northumberland-based company have discontinued the product and for the past three years Marc has searched for a new one as Ben's original cup deteriorated.

Ben has been hospitalised before for dehydration and the family say his life is controlled by the small blue cup as it's the only way he can consume fluids or medication.

When Marc's search proved fruitless, he turned to the internet and has been overwhelmed by the response, which went global.

His original tweet was retweeted more than 19,000 times.

Bosses at Tommee Tippee have searched their stores - to no avail - and the moulds for making them no longer exist.

But after Marc's online appeal, people have been contacting the Cramlington company from around the world offering their cups, some from as far as Australia.

And the first ones have already been offered to Marc.