A HEARTFELT appeal has launched by a Redditch dad who is seeking to fund specialist alternative treatment for his son, who suffers from autism.

Peter Sanford has set up a JustGiving page hoping to raise £5,000 so his six-year-old son Gabriel can get help at a Spanish autism centre.

Gabriel is a high functioning autistic child, with problems with his speech and language.

While he has made significant progress at school in the past two years, Peter, 49, says that the local education system is not able to provide for Gabriel’s specialist development needs.

He is now reaching out to the local community to help him pay for alternative treatment.

Peter said: “Sometimes it is hard to find the help you need due to austerity and local authority cuts. We are in desperate need of help and have been told that the there is a wait of at least two years for any hope of funding.”

"Thanks to crowdfunding I was able to take Gabriel to Ireland to meet a world-renowned autism expert where an accurate diagnosis for his developmental problems was given.”

It is hoped the trip to Spain will explore therapies such as Stem-Cell and Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), which are either not available in the UK or too expensive for the family.

Disabled dad Peter is no stranger to crowdfunding.

After Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) welfare changes came into force last year he found himself without a car, which made travelling to school and hospital appointments extremely difficult.

Thanks to a JustGiving appeal which was bolstered by a Redditch Advertiser article, he was able to stay mobile after strangers responded by raising £6,000 for the family’s car.

Peter, who suffers from severe arthritis after an accident where he broke both legs and fractured his lower back in 2009, is Gabriel’s sole carer and said he is pinning his hopes on this pioneering treatment.

For more information on the appeal, or to donate, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/gabesanford.

In the first few days of the appeal being open, the page has attracted more than £700.