DEVASTATED fundraisers have slammed health and safety bosses after plans to pull a fire engine through the streets of Clacton to support a tot with a rare disease were axed at the 11th hour.

Plucky two-year-old Stanley Newman, of Skelmersdale Road, Clacton, has congenital muscular dystrophy which affects his muscles, leaving him weak and limp.

Family and friends are close to raising £20,000 for a special wheelchair for the youngster.

Their latest event, which would have seen them reach their target in record time, was set to be a fire engine pull on Saturday.

Crew members from Clacton were set to haul an engine from the Town Hall, down Pier Avenue and up Jackson Road before stopping at Christmas Tree Island.

However, the fire service pulled the plug on the event at the last minute due to health and safety concerns, leaving fundraisers devastated after weeks of careful planning.

Read the full story in the Clacton Gazette, out now.