LITTLE Joel Rees will go to Florida to swim with the dolphins.

Golfers and their friends made sure of it when they raised £14,000 to pay for the trip at a gala day at Belmont Golf Club in Hereford.

Joel, aged five, was born with major handicaps and has the mental age of a nine month old.

The little boy from Putson is unable to walk, talk or eat but his great joy in life is to splash in water.

When Mike Welsh, the golf club's professional heard of Joel's plight he pledged to raise enough money to send him to the dolphin-human therapy centre in Miami, famed for helping disabled people of all ages.

He organised a tournament at Belmont, where 18 teams paid generously to play a round of golf and businesses sponsored holes and greens.

The day ended with a summer dance and buffet, supported by live acts, and 130 people joined in. An auction raised £1,200 and a raffle £395.

Joel, accompanied by his mother Beth, spent much of the day at the event and met many of the people there.

Mike Welsh paid tribute to Herefordshire people's generosity and picked out GG Industries, of Gooses Foot, Kingstone, a major sponsor of the event.

The company, not only donated a £5,000 outdoor spa bath as a prize, but helped with the expenses of organising the golf tournament.

By co-incidence, partners from a sister company in America were visiting and five Americans challenged five locals to a round, gambling on the results.

They raised £4,600 and put the lot towards helping Joel.

Mr Welsh said Joel's trip to see the dolphins was likely to take place next June, when the weather would be most suitable.