A toddler with a rare, terminal heart defect who sparked a huge fundraising effort is battling the odds – just like his big sister with the same condition.

Freddie Richardson, who turns two this month, suffers from supravalva aortic stenosis, a condition that narrows heart valves.

In late May, doctors at Hull Royal Infirmary told his mother Kirsty Selby to prepare for the worst, giving him only six months or less to live.

Miss Selby, of Cave Street, off Beverley Road, in west Hull, said: "At the moment, Freddie is fine. I am feeling pretty positive.

"I am actually having to make Freddie slow down. He just does not walk. He runs everywhere."

Freddie recently underwent hospital tests, which showed the condition has not worsened, as his doctors and family had feared.

"Before, I would spend every hour of every day worrying about Freddie," revealed Miss Selby, 36.

"But you really do start to forget, especially when you see him running around so happily."

The fair-haired toddler was diagnosed with the condition during a routine check when he was just weeks old.

Freddie's eight-year-old sister, Amelia, shares the same condition, but unlike him, her condition was such that doctors were able to perform open heart surgery when she was a baby.

In a risky operation, Amelia had a plastic tube inserted into her heart, which was designed to widen an aortic valve, helping blood flow.

Doctors had warned Miss Selby that further surgery would be needed by her sixth birthday.

She said: "They are really pleased with how Amelia is coming along too. I was told she would need a bigger tube as she grew bigger.

"But, apparently, the tube is coping really well. The doctors asked me if she ever goes blue - a symptom of the condition - but she doesn't.

"Amelia will not need to go back to the hospital for another check-up until she turns 10. It has given me real hope for Freddie."

As previously reported in the Mail, people rallied after reading about Freddie's plight earlier this year.

Enough money was raised to send the family on a summer break to Filey and Flamingo Land Theme Park, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

He said: "We had a lovely time. Freddie loved seeing the animals."

Construction boss Peter Ashurst, 50, who lives near Toronto but grew up in Bilton Grange, was among those who offered cash.

The dad-of-two donated £150 in addition to £100 raised through a fundraising barbecue held by Canadian colleagues in June.