Beckhams Buy Wheelchair For 13-Year-Old Schoolboy

December 17, 2006 by Steve Purcell

Footballer David Beckham and popstar wife Victoria recently stepped in to help 13-year-old Ollie Rycraft, a UK schoolboy fighting a fourth brain tumour who desperately needed a new life-changing wheelchair.

Ollie’s mother Debbie told how she was overwhelmed when she answered a phone call from Victoria Beckham’s mum Jackie Adams.

“When she said that David and Victoria would like to buy Ollie the wheelchair I burst into floods of tears,” she said. “At first I thought it was a joke but then when the news sunk in I just sobbed ‘thank you’ down the phone.”

A letter from Ollie’s physiotherapist Kate Mills had brought the courageous youngster’s struggle to the couple’s attention.

“I wrote and told them what Ollie had been through and within two weeks I received a call from Victoria’s mum to say they would fund the wheelchair and organise everything,” said Kate.

A delighted Ollie expressed his gratitude to the famous couple, saying, “I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the wheelchair because it helps me to get around and be independent […] I might be a Chelsea fan but I think David Beckham is great and a really good player.”

A spokesman for the Beckhams said they donated the money through their own children’s charity, but said that they prefer not to comment on individual cases as the work was not done for publicity reasons.

“The Beckhams’ children’s charity provides mobility equipment for children that need it –– they do it as and when they can and also do charity work for other charities such as the NSPCC and UNICEF,” he said. “The fund is a small but significant part of the charity work they do.”

Liked this? Why not receive future articles in your news reader or by email?

• Jackie Chan Thanked By UNICEF
• Kylie Minogue Adds Her Voice To Children's Campaign
• Hayley Westenra In Ghana For UNICEF
• Mia Farrow Visits Storm-Ravaged Haiti
• Annie Lennox Supports Charity Initiatives

• Save The Music's Esquire Party In The Hills
• Shanna Moakler Makes PETA Ad
• PETA Gives Away Chrissie Hynde's Guitar
• Grey's Anatomy Star Says No To Proposition 8
• Royal Princes To Join Bikers In African Trek