A MOTHER has called for more awareness of a rare condition which has left her son in a restrictive cast for ten weeks.

Ronnie Dennis, 8, has been wearing a broomstick cast which covers his ankles to his thighs as treatment for a condition called Perthes disease.

Ronnie’s mother Natalie first knew something was wrong when her son complained of pains in his knee in July.

“He kept saying his knee hurt and I was always asking him if he had fallen off his scooter, which he had not,” she said.

Ronnie has had to give up any high impact sport like running and other children struggled to understand why one minute he could walk and the next he was forced to rely on crutches or a wheelchair.

“It has been a frustrating time for him especially in the last three weeks because he has to be totally dependent on me, my husband Chris and our family support,” said Mrs Dennis.

“He keeps saying ‘Mummy I want to run around the playground with my friends’ which is heartbreaking."