A seven-year-old boy born without an arm has been able to hold a fishing rod with two hands for the first time - after receiving a £13,000 bionic limb.<br /><br />Inspirational Alex Sparkes spent birthdays 'wishing his arm would grow', only to be left heartbroken when he was told it wasn't possible.<br /><br />But he has been gifted a 'life-changing' prosthetic arm by 'Britain's kindest plumber' James Anderson, 55, who was touched by Alex's moving tale.<br /><br />Since receiving his Black Panther-themed arm, Alex has been able to put toothpaste on his toothbrush for the first time and will learn how to tie his shoelaces.<br /><br />And Alex is ecstatic to have finally fulfilled a lifelong dream of holding a rod for the first time during a fishing trip with his dad Robin Sparkes, 31.<br /><br />The youngster has been pictured reeling in fish with Robin at Cornfield Fisheries in Lancashire.<br /><br />Teaching assistant Robin said: "With his new hero arm, he's a lot more independent, I don't have to be there by his side all the time with the fishing rod or by the bankside.<br /><br />"I'm confident in the knowledge he can handle the rod on his own and he's able to catch his own fish.<br /><br />"I had to constantly be there whenever he handled the road, especially if he had a decent-sized fish on, just in case the weight pulled on his right arm.<br /><br />"But now I can take a bit of a step back and watch over his shoulder as he's fishing rather than having to constantly having to manage him with it.<br /><br />"We're realising what he couldn't do before, rather than what he can do now.<br /><br />"He's becoming that more independent in and around the house, but also outside the house."<br /><br />Alex said his arm is 'amazing', adding: "I can now pick up stuff. I like that I can hold the rod. I feel happy when I'm fishing, I've got two hands and I can reel the rod."<br /><br />Mum Dionne, 33, said she’d had a normal pregnancy and her scans came back clear.<br /><br />But she was shocked when Alex born without a full set of limbs after a 20 hour labour.<br /><br />Doctors later looked into the reason for Alex's missing appendage and decided that it was due to a "sporadic event", which had occurred by chance.<br /><br />Crushingly, Dionne said young kids were "scared" of him when he first went to school after spotting his single arm.<br /><br />And she revealed his birthday wish one year was for missing arm to re-appear.<br /><br />He'd been on a list of patients due to have an NHS prosthetic arm before the pandemic, but three years later, he was still waiting.<br /><br />Robin and Dionne, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancs., visited an Open Bionics fair, which makes a robotic arm so advanced it allows wearers to pick up a pin with its fingers.<br /><br />They launched a bid to raise the £12,700 needed to purchase the arm, which they said would be life changing for Alex.<br /><br />When plumber James, who has helped thousands with his charity Delpher, saw the appeal he 'fell in love' with Alex and offered to pay for the arm.<br /><br />Dionne, who works for betting company Ladbrokes, said: "I was at work and I got the message and I thought: 'surely that's not going to be true.'<br /><br />"I couldn't do my job then - I was just so excited. James then told Alex himself because it's such a kind gesture.<br /><br />"Then James told him and he didn't know what was going on but now he's got the arm, every half an hour he's asking me if I can believe he's got his arm.<br /><br />"I don't think he processed it until he got the arm."<br /><br />Dionne said Alex 'had the biggest smile on his face' when picked up his new bionic arm on July 24.<br /><br />She added: "His eyes lit up, I don't think he knew what to do or what to say. <br /><br />"He was just making silly noises and pulling funny faces because when he gets over-excited, he tends to act silly. <br /><br />"But he definitely was a character when he saw his arm for the first time.<br /><br />"He's just enjoying feeling like he has two arms.<br /><br />"He now can sit and watch TV and has one arm on his head and one arm on his knee and he couldn't do that before. <br /><br />"It's also given him the independence of pouring a drink himself and not needing any help and he can fully get dressed by himself. <br /><br />"He could do it before but now he's got his arm, he can do it normally.<br /><br />"To me, that's him feeling like he's complete."
