A charity gig is being held to raise money to support a 10-year-old boy who has had major surgery to help him walk independently.

The Comet: Jack Gower from Hitchin is having intensive physiotherapy as he strives to walk independently.Jack Gower from Hitchin is having intensive physiotherapy as he strives to walk independently. (Image: Archant)

Rock and metal cover band Strontium Dog will be playing at Club 85 on Whinbush Road in Hitchin on Friday, supported by Black Sabbath tribute band Drag Sabbath.

Proceeds from the night will be donated to Jack Gower’s Wish to Walk. Jack – of Stotfold Road in Hitchin – has spastic paraplegic cerebral palsy, a condition which makes limbs extremely stiff.

In July, surgeons at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital performed a procedure called selective dorsal rhizotomy, which involved severing the nerves carrying signals to the brain which cause the muscles to permanently tighten.

Jack, who is a pupil at Hitchin’s Highover JMI School, will need intensive physiotherapy for two years to give him the best chance of walking independently, and the Gower family have set up fundraising initiative ‘Jack’s Wish to Walk’ to help pay for this vital treatment.

Strontium Dog band member Lee Milner said: “We are doing this gig for Jack because some of the members of our band have a relative who goes to school with him. We will be backed by a three-piece brass section and have backing singers for the night called the Hairy Spiders.

“This will be a fun-filled evening, with all proceeds going to Jack’s Wish to Walk.”

Jack’s mum Ella said: “Jack is doing amazingly well. He is now walking with single sticks outdoors and walking independently indoors.

“He’s still having to work hard at strengthening his muscles and has just completed another intensive course of physio, where he finally managed to master going from kneeling on one knee to standing.

“We are incredibly grateful for the upcoming charity gig being held at Club 85, which will help us raise funds for a rowing machine to facilitate Jack’s recovery.

“We are continually thankful for all the support we have received in helping Jack to achieve his dreams.”

Tickets for the gig are £5 in advance from Molly Malones on Nightingale Road in Hitchin, or £6 on the door. Doors open at 7.45pm.

Visit www.justgiving.com/Jackswishtowalk to donate.