Little Dean Brady cannot stop smiling thanks to the big sister who made his dreams come true.

The brave six-year-old grinned with delight yesterday as he spotted his new set of wheels rolling towards him, ending months of excited anticipation.

Just before Christmas, The Argus revealed to Dean he was to receive his dream present of a new custom-built wheelchair, designed to his own specifications.

He also discovered it was thanks to his adoring big sister Lisa, 14, he was going to be able to replace the old chair he had outgrown with a state-of-the-art model costing almost £4,000.

Sister Lisa had written to the Argus Appeal to tell us her brother deserved a treat after raising almost £5,000 for other people.

Disabled Dean, from Kings Close, Lancing, has cerebral palsy but has not let it stop him from becoming one of the most inspirational fund-raising figures in Sussex.

His aim is to raise £9,000 to sponsor a fully-trained dog for Canine Partners - a charity which provides trained dogs for disabled people so they can lead an independent life.

He has already raised almost £5,000.

Dean touched people's hearts when he was one of four children honoured for their courage in last year's inaugural Argus Achievement Awards.

He has had to use a wheelchair for most of his life, suffers from severe breathing problems and is still waiting for a stomach operation to help him eat.

His mother Sally, who did not know Lisa had contacted The Argus, said the chair meant everything to Dean, who sees it as part of him.

She said: "The chair was delivered to the door and Dean screamed when he saw it. He absolutely loves it - he doesn't want to get out of it.

"It has leopard spots and WWF spoke-guards and the Rock on it just like he wanted. He's over the moon.

"People have been stopping him on the street to look at it and he is loving being the centre of attention."

Argus Appeal co-ordinator Elsa Gillio, said: "Dean has raised such a lot of money for other good causes we felt he should be rewarded with his own specially-designed, state- of-the-art chair.

"He's such a brave little boy, he does a lot of fund-raising for a lot of good causes and we felt he deserved recognition by having his dream come true."

The appeal beat all previous records by raising more than £125,000 over the past year.

Anyone wishing to make a donation can contact 01273 544544.