A SCHOOLBOY is celebrating a new set of wheels but was also left in tears after his dream holiday was delayed in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Jack Pears, 11, is over the moon after the local community rallied round to help buy him a £3,000 riser wheelchair.

This will help Jack in practical subjects such as home economics, woodwork and science now that he is in secondary school.

But the youngster was disappointed after a special family trip to Walt Disney World was postponed two days in a row as part of safety precautions after the storm, which has claimed more 40 lives, battered the Florida Keys.

His mum Pamela Mullan has been saving to take Jack and his siblings Josh, nine, Emily, seven, and Erin, two, on the once-in-a-lifetime excursion to Florida for the last 18 months.

Pamela said they were due to leave out on Monday but the flight was cancelled and rescheduled for the following day.

But she received a late call on Monday night to say the trip had been postponed for another 24 hours.

Pamela, 30, said: “I’d been told that we were due to fly out on Tuesday at 2pm, then I got a call at 10.50pm after the kids went to bed saying it was delayed again for another 24 hours.

“Jack was a bit emotional and Josh was a bit teary but I think I’m more upset than them. There’s been such a big build up to the holiday. We’ve had our cases packed ready to go for days.”

Pamela, of Port Glasgow, had been fundraising for several months to buy Jack, who has cerebral palsy, his tilt and riser wheelchair and is very grateful for all the donations.

She held a charity bash in the Upper Port Glasgow Social Club, the social club provided the hall free of charge and DJ Russell Watt played for free.

Family relatives in Aberdeen have also been fundraising and the local Co-op shop collected donations while the Senit Foundation health charity and McTear’s Auctioneers each handed over cheques for £1,000.

A total of £5,000 was raised and the money left will be put towards a new wheelchair for Emily, who has a similar condition to Jack.

Pamela said: “I want to thank everyone who donated no matter how small or large. It’s all helped to buy Jack his wheelchair.”

One big-hearted fundraiser, Gregory Doyle, gathered £250 and wanted this to be used for a treat for Jack.

The cash will be used for a session swimming with dolphins on Friday in Florida once the family are finally able to jet across the Atlantic.

Pamela said: “Orlando hasn’t been badly affected but Disney was closed as a precaution on Sunday and Monday.

“We’ll just have to squeeze 14 days into 12.”

Pamela will be joined on holiday by her parents Stewart and Karen, plus her brother, sister-in-law and niece.

They have hired a minibus and power chairs when they are over there for Jack and Emily.

The Florida Keys, which bore the brunt of Hurricane Irma on Sunday, are to re-open and a salvage operation is underway to clear roads and check the state of bridges linking the islands — but 60 per cent of homes in the state are still without power.

The storm has also left behind a trail of death and destruction in the Caribbean.

Jack’s grandfather Stewart says the tragic events put the family’s delayed holiday firmly into perspective.

He told the Tele: “You’ve got to put it in perspective, some people have lost their lives and many others have lost their homes.”