CHILDREN at a village primary school sang their hearts out to raise money to help a baby with a rare life-threatening condition after being told about his parent's fight to keep him alive.

The children at Rowde Primary sang to parents and held a cake sale in the playground on Thursday and Friday and raised £365 to help baby Charlie Gard who suffers from mitochondrial depletion syndrome.

His parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard are battling to take the seven-month-old to the US for pioneering treatment which they hope will save his life.

Members of the church choir at St Matthew's, Rowde, were told about the plight of baby Charlie by choir mistress Vicky Bolley. Choir member Kelsey Wills, ten, was particularly moved by the story and asked Rowde Primary headteacher Lorraine Colquhoun if the choir could sing at school.

Ms Colquhoun was pleased for them to be involved and presented them all with a special head teacher's certificate for their caring attitude.

Kelsey's mum Lisa said: "Kelsey came home full of it and wanted to do something to help. All the children in the choir, except for one, are pupils at Rowde.

"They were all very excited about raising money and they really bonded as a team doing it. They managed to organise the event very quickly. As parents we are incredibly proud of our children."

The choir members have also decided to donate the money they get for singing at church to the cause.

Baby Charlie's parents are locked in a heart-wrenching legal battle with specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, who think the little boy should be allowed to die with dignity and have his ventilator turned off.

But now a “do not resuscitate” order placed on Charlie by the hospital last month has been lifted. Charlie's case is set to be heard at the High Court on April 3, when his parents must convince a judge there is a chance the treatment could save the tot's life.

At a previous hearing Mr Justice Francis said it was "one of the saddest types of cases that can come before these courts".

He added that the parents were "utterly devoted to Charlie and have worked hard to become expert parents in this disease."