A SEVEN-year-old boy is allergic to the insulin he needs to fight his type 1 diabetes.

Taylor Banks, of Maple Crescent in Leigh, was diagnosed with the chronic disease when he was two years old.

His parents, Gema Westwell and Scott Banks, aged 30, noticed that their son had become lethargic, thirst stricken, and was frequently wetting the bed- all symptoms of the condition.

However after his diagnosis it was discovered that Taylor has a very rare allergy to the insulin he desperately needs- a condition believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, according to doctors at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Despite testing a variety of different types of insulin all have caused Taylor to swell and sometimes collapse and he now has no injections sites left.

The brave youngster is currently on a permanent IV drip which is pumping the insulin straight into his blood- which causes less of a reaction, but he is soon to be transferred to Great Ormond Street hospital in London in the hope that alternative treatment can be found.

In type 1 diabetes, the cells in the pancreas that make insulin are destroyed, and the body is unable to replenish it.

Insulin is a hormone that helps to lower blood sugar by allowing sugar to pass from the blood into the cells. When there is no insulin, blood sugar, called glucose, builds up in the blood.

If untreated, the disease can lead to heart attack, blindness, amputation and kidney damage.

Auntie Abi Westwell, aged 32, said: “He has been having the drip in hospital but he is not stable anymore so that is not working as it should.

“He never complains and he is always smiling. He is just like any other little boy running around; you wouldn’t know there was anything wrong to look at him.

“We just really want an outcome, we haven’t had any answers and now they can’t let him out of hospital because every part of his body that has been given insulin is so swollen.

“We just want to know how to treat him.”

In a bid to give Taylor a trip of a lifetime his family is holding a fundraiser night in Leigh East Rugby Club on October 9 to send him to Disneyland Florida.

On the night, which will start at 7.30pm, a raffle and auction will be held, and there will be a live singer and DJ entertainment.

There is also a just giving page been set up for donations which has already reached £230.

To visit the page go to: crowdfunding.justgiving.com/abi-westwell