A COURIER will be dressing up as an elf to raise money to help a young boy live a better life.

Delivery driver Stephen Richards will be dressing up for his rounds in the run up to Christmas.

Chelmsford Weekly News:

Christmas - Fraser with his sister April, aged 8

Chelmsford Weekly News:

Shopping - Fraser has limited mobility

The 31-year-old aims to raise £1,000 to help Fraser Simmonds’s family to build a downstairs bedroom and wetroom for his home in Billericay.

Fraser, aged six, lives with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, having been diagnosed in 2011 when he was only 11 months old.

The condition causes his muscles to weaken over time, resulting in paralysis and reducing life expectancy to an average of 30 years.

As he is now getting older, it is becoming more difficult for his family to carry him upstairs to bed every night, so his family are set to build the custom downstairs room for him in spring next year.

It is expected to cost about £85,000.

Mr Richards, who found out about Fraser through members of the Billericay community, will be dressing up from December 16 to 20.

The DPD delivery driver said: “Fraser’s parents want to build a room downstairs to make life easier for him and I want to help them with their fundraising.

“Last year I dressed up as the local DPD elf to get parcels to people on time, making my long hours fun.

“The response it received over a few short days has inspired me to raise money this year.”

The room is being designed by Michael Grieve, of EAP Design Ltd.

Fraser’s mum Shelley Simmonds said: “Stephen has never met Fraser but he found out about him from others and he loved the story so much he wanted to help, which is really heartwarming.

“With people like him supporting Fraser, it gets his condition out there to people who don’t know what it is.

“He’s six-years-old now, and carrying him upstairs every night is getting harder. He really needs his own room downstairs.” Go to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/dpdelfbillericay.