Football-mad Hugo aims for 10,000 keepy uppies in a week at Northampton home to thank the hospital that treated him

An eight-year-old boy from Northampton who recently had surgery to remove a tumour from his tummy is raising money for the hospital that treated him...by doing 10,000 keepy uppies in a week.

Hugo Brown discovered last November that he had a 15 centimetre tummy, which thankfully turned out to be benign. It still needed to be removed and he underwent surgery at Nottingham University Hospital.

Now he is raising money for the hospital's charity and is already halfway towards his £2,000 target.

Writing on the family's JustGiving page, mum Jennie Brown revealed the trauma when the tumour was first discovered.

"Our world fell apart, but Hugo was so strong and brave, even though I know he was frightened, having never been in hospital before. Thankfully, 2 weeks later, the results of a biopsy showed it was Ganglioneuroma, a rare benign type," Jennie said.

"Due to the size of the tumour, which was pushing into his kidney and spine and putting pressure on nerves which affect your legs, Hugo needed surgery and in January he underwent a major operation.

"A team of amazing surgeons, successfully removed 1kg of tumour! He was in surgery for 13 hours, spent a night in intensive care and a week in hospital.

"We will be forever grateful to the surgeons, doctors and nurses that operated and kept him safe during surgery and the fantastic care he received afterwards.

"We are also sadly aware, that there are lots of children treated at the hospital who are not as fortunate, due to the nature of their illnesses and who have to spend long periods of time there.

"Hugo is keen to give something back, to say the biggest thank you, and to help make the hospital experience better for other children. Hugo has and will continue to benefit, from previous fundraising efforts, one being the new children’s MRI scanner. .

"So it seems fitting he’s doing a challenge which incorporates his love of football and to show that thankfully those little legs of his are still working just fine."