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The mum of a young man accused of trying to kill Donald Trump has told the world how sorry he is.

Lynne Sandford described her son Michael as "vulnerable" and said he is "extremely profusely apologetic about what happened".

His worried mother told Get Surrey she has started a fundraising campaign for Michael serve any sentence he may receive in the UK.

At home she says he can receive appropriate help from mental health services and be nearer his family.

Michael is accused of attempting to grab a policeman's gun to shoot the Republican presidential candidate at a Las Vegas rally in June.

(Image: PA) (Image: Reuters)

He later told officials his plan was "to shoot and kill Donald Trump".

Michael pleaded not guilty to one charge of disrupting government business and official functions and two charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a gun.

Ms Sandford's campaign on Crowd Justice has already raised more than £28,000 but she is keen to reach £50,000 to cover legal costs for a UK lawyer, to visit him in the US, to get Michael a good US lawyer, and fight to get him brought home.

That way he can be near his family and receive mental health treatment to boost his rehabilitation.

(Image: Get Surrey)

Ms Sandford said: "I have been really touched and overwhelmed by people's support and kindness and generosity and I think people realise this could just have easily been their son.

"Obviously we need to continue to raise much-needed funds for what will be a lengthy and costly battle."

Michael's trial is currently set for October 3 and a court hearing is scheduled for August 23 for an application for Ms Sandford to make a face to face visit with him.

Face to face interviews with prisoners in his detention centre are rare, with meetings usually carried out by video link, but his mother is desperate to go to Las Vegas and support him in person.

(Image: Reuters) (Image: Reuters)

Michael was finally diagnosed with autism aged 13, having experienced problems since he was two, and has also been diagnosed with OCD and depression.

He was sectioned under the Mental Health Act aged 14 after attempting to starve himself to death.

During that time wrote a poignant letter to his mum which began "I am not bad or evil or naughty".

(Image: Reuters) (Image: Getty)

Around 18 months ago he made an "I love you" sign with his four-year-old sister Jessica's paints, and his mum said: "That's not the action of a person who said they wanted to assassinate a potential president."

Michael spent about 18 months away after saying he was leaving to be with a girl he had met in the UK but who lived in America.

His mum knew something was "very very wrong" when he did not return for Jessica's birthday, saying he was clearly very ill during this time, and she reported him missing in May.

The news of his arrest, which came via a phone call from the Foreign Office late at night, came "completely out of the blue".

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Now he is back to the loving Michael he once was, she said. "We honestly feel this was a cry for help."

"Every time I speak to him on the phone and mention her he just breaks down. He feels so bad about missing the last year of her [Jessica's] life."

Ms Sandford added: "He's extremely profusely apologetic about what happened, he's very glad that nobody got hurt, and this is completely out of character for him.

"He said to me 'you know mum, I would never under normal circumstances do anything like this' and that's why we know that for some reason his mind at that point was very disturbed."

This is only the latest in the family's tragic history after Ms Sandford's elder brother was knocked off his bike aged 10 and was left quadriplegic.

He did nine years later after succumbing to pneumonia, and their father had died in the intervening years, when Ms Sandford was seven.

Donations can be made to Ms Sandford's campaign by visiting her fundraising page here .