A BRAVE schoolboy with an extremely rare brain condition has been given the best birthday present ever — a trip out in a police car.

Brayden Cosgrove was born with lissencephaly — a condition which gives sufferers a life expectancy of just 10 years — and loves everything to do with the police force.

So, for his seventh birthday, PCSO Neil Wogan arranged for PC Aimee Abram and PCSO Derek Thomas to pick him up from his Farnworth home in a patrol car.

Brayden's mum Gemma Greenhow said: "He has always loved the police. Neil started off just popping in to see Brayden as I think he took quite a shine to him. I just think it's absolutely brilliant on their part. They did not have to do all this. I can't thank them enough."

Brayden suffers with seizures regularly, cannot talk very well, and his movement is impaired.

His mum said his condition only became known a few months after his birth, when he started to miss development milestones.

She added: "The more active he can be the better we are told, which is why this police excitement is so good.

"There are children who die when they are five from this, but some become teenagers and the oldest person to have lissencephaly was 30 I believe.

"We don't think about that, though. When people meet Brayden, they say you would never know there was something wrong, and you don't until you see how he is.

"Nobody has ever heard of this, and I hope this raises awareness. The first thing I did when I heard what Brayden had was look for a charity to support, but there is none, this is so rare."

The officers at Farnworth also had a whip round and bought Brayden, a pupil at Cherry Tree Primary School, a model police car for his birthday, with Miss Greenhow delivering a box of chocolates and a card as a show of thanks.

Sgt Steve Malone, of the Bolton South neighbourhood policing team, said: " I was genuinely touched when I heard about Brayden's story and I'm really proud of the officers from Farnworth team who were able to spend a little time making his birthday an extra special occasion.

"Stories such as this don't get publicised often enough and they really are one of the most rewarding parts of neighbourhood policing.

"The officers tell me Brayden is an inspirational young man and that they feel privileged to have met him and his wonderful family."

Experts say lissencephaly affects just 11.7 in one million children born, developing typically when a foetus is 12-to-14 weeks old.

Severe cases may result in the child failing to develop mentally beyond a three-to-five month old.

Common causes of death for sufferers of lissencephaly include choking on food or drink, respiratory disease, or seizures.