Jamie is the face of Rockinghorse campaign

Jamie Last was given just two years to live when he was diagnosed with short gut syndrome, which meant the majority of his small bowel had twisted and died, when he was just two days old.

It was almost a year before Jamie's mum Tina Bourner could bring him home and she had to learn how to feed him through tubes through his nose and chest.

Slowly, Jamie's bowel began to re-grow and consultant Dr Butt at the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital in Brighton continued to monitor his progress.

At five years old, Jamie was taken off the total parental nutrition and had his central line removed, but continued to be fed through a gastrostomy tube into his tummy for a further year.

To begin with he couldn't manage a teaspoon of mash potato, but gradually learnt to eat bigger portions and aged six he finally had his tummy peg removed and ate normally.

He has some problems with his liver, kidney and spleen, which still need treatment from time to time, but otherwise Jamie now leads a normal life.

Now the seven-year-old has become the face of a campaign by the charity Rockinghorse to raise 25,500 to create a new Gastro-Intestinal Unit at the Royal Alexandra.

Setting up the unit will involve bringing together some cutting edge equipment to allow Dr Butt and his team to monitor things like bone density and measure the effects of the different treatments given to children with problems like Jamie's.

Dr Butt will be able to collate a much greater depth of information from many different patients through a new database that would be shared by consultants across the country, possibly the world.

Jamie's mum Tina Bourner said: "It's wonderful that they are raising money for this short gut syndrome unit.

"I will help as much as I can to get funding in.

"My son is aware of what is going on and is pleased to help as well."

She added: "Brighton hospital is a very good hospital and they have supported the whole family really well through Jamie's treatment and continue to monitor him and it's fantastic what they do for him and the whole family.

"I cannot fault the care they gave him."

Gavin Fisher, chief executive of Rockinghorse, said: "We are extremely excited to be working with The Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital on this new initiative.

"Many children live with complex GI conditions that can affect every aspect of their lives.

"Rockinghorse has been working with the Alex to raise funds for a new Gastro-Intestinal (GI) and Nutrition Clinical Investigation Unit which will have a national impact on research in this field and will ensure the hospital can help more children like Jamie."