Alfie, 3, scoots to success

A TODDLER was the star of a “sponsored scoot” to raise money for charity.

Alfie Palgrave, who suffers from eczema, and friends cycled and scooted two miles around Montrose to provide Eczema Outreach Support with a £412 windfall.

The charity offers support and practical advice to families coping with eczema, which affects about 15 million people in the UK and causes dry, red, itchy and cracked skin.

Mum Kim Stewart said three-year-old Alfie’s eczema has put a huge emotional, mental and sometimes financial strain on the family.

She said: “Eczema Outreach Support has been a massive help to us. Having a child with eczema can be a really difficult time – it’s great to have someone to talk to and give you advice.”

Eczema Outreach Support i s a national charity. As well as a dedicated family support worker, it also arranges family events, provides school workshops and raises t he profi l e of eczema sufferers.

“Before I had Alfie I thought eczema was just a little bit of dry itchy skin that you put moisturiser on, but I couldn’t have been more wrong,” said Kim. “It is heartbreaking t o wa t c h y o u r c h i l d scratch until they bleed.

“There have been times Alfie has cried because he doesn’t want to make himself bleed, he doesn’t want to have cream on that stings or he doesn’t want to be covered in wet bandages. There have also been times I have gone through to his bedroom to find his sheets covered in skin and blood.”