The eight-year-old boy who has written a book to fund his new wheelchair

• Watch Kathy Wardle's full report

An eight-year-old boy from St Austell has written and illustrated his own storybook to raise funds for a new wheelchair.

Alfie Dormand first started writing his book 'The Monkeys That Stole A Bus' during lockdown, drawing all of the pictures himself using a computer.

The story was inspired by a trip he took to Paignton Zoo.

Teachers at Alfie's school, St Mewan Primary in St Austell, have now been reading the book to their classes.

Alfie's teacher Alex Palmer said: "We're incredibly proud of Alfie.

"We've shared the story with the whole class and it was such a delight to do that because of the children's smiles and how they applauded Alfie at the end for writing such a good story.

"The parents have been buying the book, and when they've bought a book they send it in and Alfie signs it like a proper professional author."

Alfie has a rare genetic disorder called L1 Syndome and a related condition called Hydrocephalus, which both affect his mobility.

Alfie can walk short distances, but he mainly relies on a manual wheelchair which is starting to limit his independence.

Michelle said: "He does struggle with a lot of things.

"His health and getting around is one of the things which we could help if we had access to an electric wheelchair.

"It would just help him so much to be able to do what he wants to do - he'd be able to be more of an eight-year-old child. We're relying on me to push him everywhere, which is getting difficult as he is getting older."

Alfie and his family began selling the book online to help raise the £3,000 needed to replace the manual wheelchair he currently uses.

Alfie has already raised around a third of his target through online book sales and a Just Giving page.

'The Monkeys That Stole The Bus' is not Alfie's only foray into the world of literature. At the age of just six, he also wrote a book called 'Crocodile's Day Trip'.