AFTER an intensive year of fundraising, Caldicot Male Voice Choir have bought a specially designed electronic bed for a six-year-old Caldicot child who suffers from a rare genetic disorder.

Annalese Gosling has Fibrodisplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP). If she is injured, the soft tissue will regrow as bone, leading to the formation of a ‘second skeleton’.

The new bed provides extra padding and transparent sides, ensuring safety whilst Annalese sleeps, with the adjustable positions providing much needed support and comfort. Specialist bed manufacturers Bakare Beds in Plymouth were commissioned to create the bed, which was made in pink at Annalese’s request. The bed is not available on the NHS and had to be purchased privately.

Throughout 2015, the choir and its associates Cor Meibion Caldicot cycle club and ‘Birdie Boys’ golf society raised nearly £9,500. through a series of concerts and events at their choir hall. Fundraising included a series of concerts and events at their choir hall, an endurance cycle ride around Redwick in May, a 200-mile three day cycle ride by 16 riders from Llanidloes in North Wales to Caldicot in July, and a golf tournament in September.

After purchasing the electronic bed, the remaining £6,000 of funds raised were donated to Newport-based charity Sparkle, which aims to support disadvantaged children from its base at the Serennu Children’s Centre.

Annalese’s mother, Leanne, said: “It will make a massive difference to Annalese’s life, a huge thank you to the choir for their mammoth fundraising efforts.”

The choir plans to raise funds through similar sponsored events in 2016 for the South East Wales branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, to obtain much needed equipment and resources to help those suffering with the disease.

Details of all planned events will be announced at a later date, but a fundraising page has been set up for people to donate at www.justgiving.com/CaldicotChoirMNDA