A Bradford teenager battling cystic fibrosis was over the moon when a charity granted his wish to go to the British Grand Prix.

But Imran Afzal's trip of a lifetime almost turned into a nightmare when he and charity representative Martin Phillips got caught in horrendous traffic jams near the Silverstone race track.

Undeterred, the pair abandoned their taxi and, despite the 18-year-old's illness, began a seven-mile, three-hour walk to the Northamptonshire circuit.

Imran, from Great Horton, Bradford, suffers serious breathing difficulties and needs daily medical treatment.

He said: "I was very tired at the end of the walk, but I was so excited at being there that I forgot about my health. When I saw the traffic I didn't think I was going to get there and when we started walking, I didn't think we had a chance -but we arrived in the end.

"There was no way I was going to miss it. It was a tiring day but worth it. Just looking at the cars and hearing the noise they made was the best. It was a dream come true to go to Silverstone, especially to see Michael Schumacher, who is my hero."

Roads around the Northamptonshire track were closed when car parks reached capacity and traffic had nowhere to go.

But Otley charity Hang Onto a Dream, which makes dreams come true for sick youngsters, had paid £420 for two of the last remaining grandstand tickets overlooking the finishing line - and the pair were determined to get there.

Mr Phillips, 35, from Otley, said: "Our taxi got to three miles outside Towcester at about 8am and we were met with two lanes of solid traffic going nowhere - it was unbelievable.

"We put the radio on and heard about the horrendous problems so we decided to leave the taxi and walk it, rather than mess about.

"Imran would have been devastated to miss it. We were walking through standstill traffic with thousands of other fans and there was a constant stream of people.

"We got there about 11am - three hours later. It was okay for me because I'm used to walking, but Imran obviously wasn't. He did very well and coped with the help of medication, but he was tired."

Nigel Francis, who runs Hang Onto a Dream, said he would be writing to Schumacher's Ferrari team to see if they could donate any merchandise to Imran to compensate for his inconvenience.

"I think something should be done as a gesture," he said. "After all, he idolises Schumacher."

People wanting more information about Hang Onto a Dream should ring (01943) 463467.

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