A WAREHAM dad is battling to raise money for his sick son who underwent emergency brain surgery barely two months ago.

Shaun Colvin, now five, was found to be suffering from severe anxiety when he was rushed to Southampton General Hospital with fluid on his brain.

Originally it was put down to new school nerves.

But health officials became increasingly concerned with his condition when he developed mobility problems.

"It really, really affected his confidence," his mum Alison said. "Noise would really hurt him and it got worse. We kept going back and we eventually were seen by a community paediatrician. He had to be operated on the very next morning."

Now his father, Simon, is running, swimming and cycling all the way from his home in Sherford Drive to the hospital where staff saved his little boy.

The 34-year-old will swim one mile, run five miles and cycle 50 miles, all the way to Southampton to raise money for brain tumour research.

He and Alison were inspired after they found out what little funding brain tumour research receives, despite it being one of the single biggest killers of both children and adults.

Mrs Colvin said: "There were so many poorly children in the hospital who won't come home. Shaun was very upset. That's why we thought we would go about doing this. That's when we found out there's so little money in the research and yet it kills so many people."

Medics decided it would be safer not to remove Shaun's tumour for the moment and will instead monitor it closely.

But some people aren't quite so lucky, something Alison fully acknowledges.

"Shaun's prognosis is good but sadly this is often not the case," she added. "In fact brain tumours kill more adults and children under 40 than any other cancer and yet only receives one per cent of funding. This fact fills us both as parents with absolute fear and something we are just not happy to accept."

Simon will be undertaking the biggest physical feat of his life on Sunday, October 4, in a bid to raise as much money as he can.

"Without funding people are still losing their children," Alison, 33, added. "To think there's no hope for some of them is just heartbreaking. Shaun has been incredibly brave. He can talk his operation through and explain it. It's really hard and there will be a few differences but we are so so lucky he's still got lots of things to do."

To donate to the Colvins' cause visit justgiving.com/simon-colvin3.