A mother who was told her baby son would never live to see a major birthday due to his cerebral palsy has just seen him turn 40.

Frank Beavis enjoyed a birthday party at the Hare and Hounds in Oswaldtwistle surrounded by 50 friends and family members.

Guests enjoyed a buffet laid on by the pub, plus dancing, a disco and karaoke music.

Frank, of Foxhill Close, Oswaldtwistle, is an inspiration to many after confounding medical opinion.

He suffered a convulsion as a one-year-old and was close to death after his temperature soared to over 41 degrees, leaving him with severe disabilities.

He is a well-known local character, especially at St Paul’s Church, and when he was younger there was a fundraising campaign, featured in the Observer, to buy him a minibus.

The "Friends of Frankie" handed over the specially adapted vehicle to him and his late father Don, who was also a wheelchair user, in 1989 after raising a whopping £8,500.

The family was also closely involved in raising money and offering support to parents of children with disabilities.

Frank now lives with his mother Mary at their open plan, converted bungalow.

He enjoys socialising at his church, singing hymns and reading.

Mary said: "To say that he’s got to 40 is such a blessing because they never gave us any hope he would reach five, let alone anything else. He is a young man with great purpose in his life.

"It was a wonderful do. Everybody was dancing and singing and they put on a beautiful buffet. All his friends from church and everybody came along."

Frank’s niece Louise Weaver, who helped organise the party, said: "He was told that he wouldn’t make any major birthdays so it’s quite a feat that he has reached 40."