Tears were turning to smiles today for a sick boy who attends a south Essex hospice.

Jack Pitcher, six, was among 40 ill youngsters who were off to see Father Christmas in his native country - Lapland.

The trip comes three days after it was actually meant to happen and the excited children had boarded the plane only to be told to disembark when a fault in the plane's hydraulics was discovered.

Following the disappointment on Saturday, mum Belinda was not telling Jack of the rescheduled visit until they were on their way to Gatwick Airport today.

Jack was one of two regular visitors at Little Haven Hospice in Thundersley who were offered the opportunity of the one-day trip of a lifetime.

He suffers from a condition so rare that doctors have been unable to find a match for it anywhere in the world.

Its symptoms are similar to Batten's Disease. Jack is blind, has severe epilepsy, and has difficulty walking. He is not expected to live beyond the age of ten.

Mrs Pitcher said: "We were at the hospice and the offer to go to Lapland came up. We jumped at the chance as me and my husband could not afford to take Jack ourselves."

Mrs Pitcher, Jack and his brother Frank, four, from Little Waltham, arrived at Stansted Airport at 6am on Saturday. They checked in and boarded the plane but just before take-off were told there was a technical hitch. They were left waiting for a while, and were then told to get off the plane as it could not fly.

Mrs Pitcher said: "We just did not know what was happening. The story was changing every few minutes. We ended up just coming home. Jack was absolutely devastated."

Yesterday, parents of the 40 ill youngsters who come from across the eastern region were told the trip had been rescheduled for today.

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