The parents of a little boy who is unable to walk are hoping he will be accepted for a life-changing operation in America this summer.

Two-year-old Wes Knight, who was born prematurely and has cerebral palsy, is unlikely to be able to walk without the Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy procedure.

Now his parents, Tim and Catherine, of Guiseley, are preparing to submit paperwork to the St Louis Children’s Hospital as part of the selection process for surgery.

If they are successful, they hope to fly out to America in the summer so that Wes can have the operation which has transformed the lives of thousands of children. Also travelling with them will be their daughters Amelie, five, and Isobel,14. Wes’s dad Tim said they were putting together documents, X-rays and an MRI scan to send to the hospital.

“We are hoping to be in a position to submit all of that by the end of February,” he said. “If it goes well, we will look at flying to the USA in the summer.

The operation, which costs more than £36,000, involves neurosurgery to reduce the muscle stiffness that prevents cerebral palsy sufferers from walking.

Wes may then need a further procedure and will need follow up care and three years of intensive physiotherapy.

His parents launched a website – wesleyswish.org – to help raise £95,000 for the operation and three years of intensive physiotherapy.

Tim thanked everyone who had helped them to reach the total so far of just over £40,000. Fundraisers have taken part in skydives, run marathons and walked 40 miles in a day, to help Wes reach his total.