YOUNGSTERS from a village school donned onesies on Friday honour of a that supports one of their fellow classmates.

Children at Abbotts Ann Primary School ditched their uniforms to raise vital funds and awareness for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) – a charity very close to young Harry Rood’s heart.

The seven-year-old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes two years ago – and his story has inspired staff and pupils at his school to host a “Type Onesie”

event to mark World Diabetes Day.

Harry is one of around 40 children in Andover who suffer from the chronic life-long condition, which often causes sufferers to feel very thirsty, tired, lose weight and urinate more frequently than usual.

Harry’s mother, Rebecca Pearce, said: “We didn’t realise that these were all signs and symptoms of Type 1 diabetes.

“Trying to keep Harry’s blood sugar levels between the normal range of four to seven is difficult due to them being affected by how much or little he eats, the weather, stress, anxiety and excitement.

“Since diagnosis we have been on a massive learning curve which has involved doing finger prick blood tests through the day and night, counting the carbohydrates in everything he eats, learning how to inject and in the past year learning how to operate his insulin pump.

“We have also had to learn about low blood sugars and high blood sugars, both of which can be very dangerous.

“I am very grateful to Abbotts Ann Primary School for supporting JDRF, which will raise both awareness and also raise funds.”

JDRF is a charity funding medical research into Type 1 diabetes, a condition that causes the body’s own immune system to attack insulin-producing cells, which are vital to enable the body to turn glucose from food into energy.

The illness affects 400,000 people in the UK, with more than 29,000 of them being children.

Last year JDRF’s inaugural #TypeOnesie campaign raised £58,000 across the UK.