Greg Powell of Fallowfield, Ampthill, was diagnosed with a complex Mitochondrial Disorder when he was nine years old, which means he does not have enough energy to keep his body functioning properly.

He is now set to benefit from a new off-road buggy after organisers of Ampthill's Fancy Dress Three-Legged Beer Race chose to give £900 of the money raised to 13-year-old Greg.

Mum Nicola, 43, said: "I was really shocked when I received the call.

"It's so lovely to think that people locally are thinking about you and care enough to do something like that.

"Greg loves things like going into the woods or forests, but in his current buggy he can't do that, so this really does mean a lot to us as he will be able to do things he couldn't do before."

The disorder means that Greg, who attends Hillcrest School in Houghton Regis, is confined to a wheelchair for the majority of the time as his muscles have not developed, and he is unable to speak.

Nicola added: "When Greg was diagnosed we were so glad that finally we had a diagnosis, but we still don't know what the future holds for him.

"He is very slowly improving, but it is still a relatively rare and unknown disorder so they just don't know what's going to happen.

"We just take one day at a time and hope for the best. You just have to look at the positives, like being lucky enough to receive this money."

The town's annual fancy dress beer race has been running for ten years, and is organised by a group of local residents.

It has raised £35,000 for local charities, as well as a local village in Gambia. This year it raised £6,000 and the group also chose to give some of the money to local teenager Luke Morrow who suffers from celebral palsy. His family has used the money to take him to Canada.

Committee chairman Andy Briars said: "The contribution and commitment from people has shown the spirit of Ampthill community and the constant desire to have fun, as well as support others."