MALVERN parents Lee and Heather Stallard are looking to raise funds for a charity devoted to researching a rare sight condition suffered by their son Jay.

The eight-year-old was about five-and-a-half when he was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a genetic disorder affecting the retina which can ultimately lead to blindness.

“We’d never heard of it before,” said devoted Dad Mr Stallard, a painter and decorator.

“If he looks straight ahead, he can’t see what’s on the floor in front of him, and he was tripping over things.”

There is currently no treatment, however RP Fighting Blindness, which Mr and Mrs Stallard belong to, is funding research into possible cures, including stem cell and genetic therapies.