GLASGOW-based charity's appeal to raise £900,000 for a clinical trial for children with deadly brain tumours received a £300,000 boost from an anonymous donor.

A online campaign set up by Funding Neuro collected more than £620,000 in donations in just 10 weeks.

Staff at the charity hope the remaining £280,000 can be found in order to get the trial - to help 18 children - underway as soon as possible.

Funding Neuro chief executive Sharon Kane said she has been "blown away" by donation.

She added: "It’s very unusual for anyone to make such a substantial one-off contribution.

"It’s certainly by far the biggest single amount Funding Neuro has ever received.

"There was only one caveat to the donation, that it remain anonymous."

The charity was established by Bearsden lawyer Bryn Williams in 2012 to help fund research to solve problems which hinder progress towards cures for brain conditions.

Mr Williams, a dad-of-two, was diagnosed with Parkinsons in 2007, and started the charity to support the work of Bristol-based Professor Steven Gill.

Mr Gill is the neurosurgeon behind a revolutionary robotic treatment offering hope to millions of sufferers of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, brain tumours and other neurological conditions.

His latest clinical trial will see 18 children with DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma) brain tumours selected to undergo the pioneering treatment where drugs are injected directly into the brain.

DIPG tumours are rare in the UK, with around 30 to 40 children diagnosed each year.

Two of the children currently being treated by the professor - Gughi Grasselini, five, from Italy and 12-year-old Esten Pedersen Indset from Norway - were given just a few months to live when originally diagnosed

Sharon Kane added: "Following treatment, we’re not only seeing their life expectancy increasing dramatically, their quality of life is also significantly improved.

“We frequently receive enquiries from the parents of children who have been diagnosed with these horrendous tumours. Understandably, like any parent, they’re desperate to find any way to help their child.

“I’ve met with each of the children who were previously referred to the Professor for treatment and in each case their prognosis was dire, which is absolutely heart-breaking.

To find out more about Funding Neuro’s and the crowdfunding campaign visit: https://hubbub.net/p/funding-neuro, www.fundingneuro.com, or call 0141 530 4424.