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When little Brecon Vaughan mingled with the celebrities at the Pride of Britain Awards ceremony, his proud parents had to give him a helping hand.

Then five years old, Brecon’s cerebral palsy had left him unable to walk unaided. He relied on his walking frame or wheelchair to get around.

But – thanks to the generosity of Dan Black – days after the ceremony, Brecon flew to the US for an operation designed to help him walk without help.

Dan, who is paralysed below the chest because of a cycling accident, had been raising cash to fund surgery that may have allowed him to walk again.

But when he heard about Brecon’s plight, Dan took the £22,000 he had saved up and gave it to the youngster.

This amazing gesture meant the target Brecon’s family was raising for the operation was reached within days.

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Now, two years later, Brecon can walk thanks to Dan’s selfless gift.

Dan says: “I’d had 22 years of walking before my accident. But Brecon had never known what it was like even for 22 seconds.

“To me, it wasn’t a big thing to give the money. If more people did that sort of thing, the world would be a much nicer place.”

Dan, 27, of Llanvair Discoed near Chepstow in Monmouthshire, adds: “Hearing that Brecon was finally walking was lovely. It made giving the money away worth it.”

Brecon can now walk into school on his own, having abandoned his walking frame a year ago.

“Brecon would always say he wanted to be like his friends and do what they do, play tag and run around,” says his mum Ann, 47.

“My heart would break. But now, while he’s still got a long way to go, it’s incredible how far he’s come. I’m immensely proud and I can’t thank Dan enough.”

(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)

Before his surgery, Brecon’s legs would give way if he tried to walk unaided.

His condition, spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, meant the nerves in his spine received incorrect signals from his brain.

Brecon’s family were desperate for him to have surgery to cut these nerves and loosen tendons in his legs.

Ann, of Chepstow, says: “Without his walker, he had no control. He’d lurch forward and fall.”

But the family were unable to have the surgery on the NHS where they lived, so in June 2013 they launched an appeal in their local paper to raise £60,000 to get it done in the US.

Meanwhile, Dan had spent the previous four years raising money to put towards stem cell treatment, in the hope it would help him walk again.

He was paralysed after being knocked off his bike in 2009 as he rode to work. Dan suffered a stroke as he recovered in hospital, leaving him unable to use his right arm.

But once he heard about Brecon’s story he knew he had to help.

(Image: Polly Thomas / Athena Pictures)

Dan says: “I donated £1,000 of my own money. But when I stopped to think, I realised I could give him the money I’d raised for myself as well – his treatment had a better chance of success.”

At the time Brecon’s fund stood at £11,000. Dan’s money gave it a boost and the publicity generated by his kindness prompted more to donate.

In October 2013 he won a Pride of Britain Award for his generosity.

Four days after applauding from the audience, Brecon was heading to a hospital in Missouri.

“We saw the change straight after the surgery.” says Ann.

“He was learning to walk from scratch but his whole posture had changed.”

After intense physiotherapy, which he still has, Brecon revealed in June last year he had made a big decision.

Ann says: “He told me he wasn’t using the walker any more.

He said, ‘I’m sick of people staring’. I was frantic, thinking he’d fall and hurt himself, but he took those first steps. They were very wobbly but he never used the walker again.”

His dad Rob, 47, says of the moment: “It was emotional. He just pushed away his walking device. I take my hat off to him that he’s as strong willed as he is.”

Ann adds: “At sports day this year he had a different starting point but the fact he ran and crossed the finish line without assistance from anybody was incredible. The cheer was enormous.”

She says Brecon, seven, knows Dan has helped him but is too young to grasp the scale of his gift.

Ann adds: “Dan is amazing. His gesture has allowed him to enjoy life so much more.”

If you know an unsung hero, it’s time to put them forward for a Pride of Britain Award. All nominations in by the closing date of midnight on Friday will be considered.

The winners will be selected from a shortlist by a panel of esteemed judges.

The awards ceremony, presented by Carol Vorderman, will be at Grosvenor House hotel in Central London next month, and will be shown on ITV.

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Nominate them today for the Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards 2015 sponsored by Lidl. Visit prideofbritain.com, email nominate@ prideofbritain.com or pick up a form at Lidl