Breightmet: Young Austin to receive royal welcome for award

Aged only nine, Austin Thornber, from Breightmet, has raised thousands of pounds for charity in his short life.

Austin suffers from multiple complex illnesses, including a hole in his heart, a gene mutation which is only known as ACBG, breathing issues due to collapsed pockets of infection in his lungs, ADHD and autism.

He spends his spare time fundraising for other children with illnesses, raising money for the charity When You Wish Upon a Star, which aims to grant wishes to children with life threatening illnesses.

Last year, Austin received a scouting award for the charity work that he does.

Austin standing proud with his commendation

Next month, he will travel to Windsor Castle, where he will be given a letter of congratulations by Bear Grylls in a formal ceremony on St. George's Day, Sunday, April 23.

A member of the Royal Family will also be present.

His grandmother, Dawn Thornber, said: “The Scouts look after him so well – they put him in for a club award.

“When the scouting association knew the extent of what he had done, they gave him a scouting award.

“He attended the ceremony with a canula in as he had undergone surgery. Everyone was in tears.

Austin's medal

“Now, he will be going to Windsor Castle on St George’s Day for a formal ceremony.”

She added: “Bear Grylls is going to be there and will present the award, and there will be a member of the Royal Family at the event – they haven’t confirmed who it will be yet due to security reasons.

“Austin was born with a heart condition, then later on developed a lung condition as well.

“He had lung surgery on his birthday last year.

"Because of his breathing, he has been in and out of hospital all the time, and he’s constantly having treatment for his lungs.

“He also has autism, and a genetic condition, it hasn’t got a name. He has a lot to contend with.”

Dawn spoke about his great efforts for charity.

She said: “He likes to do raffles, he has done so many fun runs. He started with a goal of £1k, then it went to £2k, and then up. He has raised £5k now.

One of the silly swim fundraising events Austin has been involved in (Image: UGC)

“I think he remembers going to see other children and seeing what they deal with. He says it’s for the poorly children, to give them happy smiles.

“I’ll never know why he started in the first place, but I think now it gives him a buzz.”

Speaking on why he fundraises, Austin said: “To help poorly children and to give them smiles. I like to.

“I like to do raffles and do 5k runs. I want to help the community and for the money that I’ve raised to go to charity.”

On a scale of one to ten for how excited he is to go to Windsor Castle, Austin is at "ten and a half".

To donate to Austin’s GoFundMe for When You Wish Upon A Star, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dawn-thornber6

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at zach.harrison@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @zachhjourno.