A SIX-YEAR-OLD boy is donating a treasured toy to children with learning difficulties.

Ethan Hoare, of Bryn Road, Weymouth, was

sorting out his toys and realised he no longer played with his big rocking horse.

After a consultation with his mother, Dionne, Ethan decided that the children at Cherries might like it, so asked his parents if they could take it over.

Cherries, on Mount Pleasant Avenue South, is a county council-run home providing respite, long-term and day care for up to 19 children with moderate to severe learning difficulties.

Ethan, a pupil at Holy Trinity School, was given the rocking horse when he was two years old.

Dionne, 35, said: "He didn't play with it any more and he wanted to give it to some children who weren't as well off as he was.

"We talked about it and he decided that a children's home would be a good idea because he felt sad for them."

Cherries child care officer, one of 35 staff at the home, Ann Mullan, said they get quite a lot of donations, which are always gratefully received, but this rocking horse was very special.

"It's a lovely thing for a child to give away. It is such a beautiful horse," she said.

"It means a lot to our children because they can touch it and feel it as well as get on and ride it.

"A lot of our things get damaged and we have to keep replacing them, so this will be wonderful.

"From a child, it means a lot to us. For a young child to be so thoughtful at such a young age is great," she said.