A BRADFORD toddler is among just 200 people in the world battling against a potentially fatal heart condition.

Jaxon Green-Moore has LEOPARD Syndrome, which affects the skin, face and heart and leaves him at risk of sudden death and unable to take part in sporting activities.

Now relatives of the Queensbury three-year-old are embarking on a fundraising challenge to raise money for the national charity Heart Research UK and draw attention to Jaxon's condition, for which there is no known cure.

LEOPARD Syndrome means the heart walls become stiff and thick and the pulmonary valve, which pumps blood from the heart to the lungs, can narrow.

His mother Heidi Green, 39, is taking part in Heart Research UK’s Swim the Channel challenge along with Jaxon’s grandmother, Pat Bingham, 69, to raise awareness to others of his rare condition.

They will cover 1770 lengths of their local swimming pool over ten weeks to complete the 22 mile challenge.

His mum said: "I want to to raise funds in the hope one day there will be a cure for his hypertrophic cardiomyopathy before it is too late. It would be a miracle and mean he could do normal things with his siblings that people take for granted.

"It’s good to raise awareness too as people don't understand, often thinking heart disease only affects older people or those who don't exercise or eat healthy."

Jaxon's school, Northowram Primary in Halifax, has now trained staff to use a defibrillator and purchased a device so they can help should Jaxon, who lives in Cropredy Road, Queensbury, become ill.

The condition is so rare that there is little specialist knowledge available, said Miss Green, and no support groups for parents to exchange information.

The expectation is that the risk of problems will increase as Jaxon reaches adolescence, but his mother hopes that fundraising will contribute towards finding a cure by then.

His family are raising sponsorship through the Just Giving website and Miss Green is also hopeful the event will raise awareness that heart disease affects young people as well as the age group normally associated with the illness.

Now Heart Research UK is looking for more people to take part in the cross-Channel challenge.

Participants are given 12 weeks to clock up the full 22 miles, giving people the option to complete it as quickly as they want to.

More than 2.6 million people in the UK are living with heart disease with many cases potentially preventable by eating healthy and partaking in an active lifestyle, according to the charity.

Visit www.heartresearch.org.uk/events/swim-channel to join.