THE family of a disabled Weston boy who loved Aardman's Gromit the dog character has donated his collection of the models to the Children’s Hospice South West’s Charlton Farm hospice.

When he was just a baby, Ollie Lewis' family began his collection of Gromit characters, from Aardman Animation's Wallace and Gromit films.

Following a brain injury at birth, Ollie was left with Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy and seizures. He was non-verbal and confined to a wheelchair, and required constant care.

Speaking about Ollie's love of Gromits, his mum, Charmaine, said: “I don’t really know where the love of Gromits first came from.

“He got the first one as a birthday present and then it quickly became Ollie’s thing.

“Family and friends started to buy them for him as gifts for birthdays and Christmas.

“Mum and I used to go up to the shop in The Mall and queue from early in the morning to make sure he had the latest one for his collection when they arrived.

“They looked lovely all dotted around his bedroom at home.”

When he was only 18 months old, Ollie was introduced to the children's hospice, which provided him and his family with vital support.

Charmaine added: “Ollie was about 18 months old when we first stayed at Charlton Farm.

“It was the most wonderful, supportive environment.

“Being there gave us all a chance to take some time out, whether that was just having a long bath, dinner together or going for a walk while knowing that Ollie was being cared for.

“He absolutely loved it there.”

In March 2022, Ollie sadly passed away, aged only 10.

Charmaine added: “Being at the hospice with Ollie when he died gave us all the chance to say goodbye properly and for us to spend that special time with him.

“With the support of the staff we were also able to begin the slow journey of processing what had happened."

Following Ollie's death, his family donated more than 20 Gromits to Charlton Farm, which are now dotted around the hospice building.

Ollie's family, including Charmaine, dad Neil and siblings Millie, now 5 and Alfie, 9, are still being supported by the hospice team.

Charmaine said: “The sibling team were on hand every day to help our other children, Alfie and Millie, to make sure they were as ok as they could be on those first few days after Ollie died.

“Having them there to help us answer those new and hard questions that they now had about Ollie was so helpful and lovely."