A WELL-KNOWN family man who would do 'anything for anyone' is in need of a helping hand. 

Paul Donaldson, aka 'PD', from Carlisle, has been diagnosed with the lifelong condition Transverse Myelitis and as a result is needing an electric wheelchair to continue operating with a sense of independence. 

Paul's close friend, Kerry Hodgson, set up a fundraiser in Paul's name to try and help him raise the £6,000 he needs to buy a bariatric electric wheelchair. 

"I've known Paul since I was 12, I'm sure a lot of people will know him as the genuine and lovely person he is," she said. 

Paul, who is perhaps best known for running the Cult Cinema Club at Harraby Community Centre before he got ill, does qualify for NHS funding as a result of his condition for the chair, but as part of the application, a visit to his house deemed it 'too small' which pulls back any opportunity to access the available funding. 

READ MORE: UCU members from Carlisle College commit to strike action

"I did it because lets face it, you would want someone to do this for you if it ever happened," Kerry said. 

"When I was talking to him, something as simple as taking your daughter to the park is off the cards now - stuff you take for granted when you can walk. 

"It would really mean the world to him to get that for him before Christmas," she said. 

The GoFundMe currently sits at around £2,500 - with one very kind-hearted soul carrying a large weight of that. 

One person who donated £1,000 has never even met Paul but, they had been talking of their shared interest of films, and when the person's mother was in hospital, Paul sent her flowers off his own back "because that's the type of person he is", Kerry said. 

"It's my birthday at the end of October, and if we can get the £6,000 by then that would be the best birthday present I could ever ask for - I just know it will change his life. 

"He's such a lovely person and he just deserves a break," she said. 

To help get Paul back to some sense of normality with his wife Kerry and daughter Emily, visit www.gofund.me/411b8082

READ MORE: Man falls 20 metres after he slips at Aira Force waterfall