Dancing with the stars for David

Patricia Perlman Dee with son David, who suffers from the muscle-wasting disease, spinal muscular atrophy

The mother of a terminally ill Manchester one-year-old is expecting celebrity support for a charity dance event on Sunday aimed at raising £20,000 for drug trials.

David Dee from Altrincham suffers from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a muscle-wasting disease which is currently incurable. However, the first clinical trials of new drugs to counter the condition were started by the SMA Trust charity a fortnight ago.

His mother, Patricia Perlman Dee, said a celebrity footballer and actors had pledged to attend the "Zumbathon", for which organisers hope for a capacity 600 turnout at the HMV Ritz.