A BOY born with one arm beams as he holds a fishing rod in two hands thanks to a £13,000 bionic limb.
Seven-year-old Alex Sparkes got the Black Panther-themed prosthetic after a fundraising appeal by parents Robin and Dionne.
Alex, of Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, called it “amazing” and said: “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.”
Dad Robin Sparkes, 31, 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.
“I’m confident in the knowledge he can handle the rod on his own and he’s able to catch his own fish.
“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.
“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.
“We’re realising what he couldn’t do before, rather than what he can do now.
“He’s becoming that more independent in and around the house, but also outside the house.”
