FOOTBALL giants Manchester United are helping youngsters with cystic fibrosis – thanks to the family of a Huntingdon child. Michael Dowler, aged eight months, from Lamport Drive, Hartford, was born in Hinchingbrooke Hospital and was diagnosed with the con

FOOTBALL giants Manchester United are helping youngsters with cystic fibrosis - thanks to the family of a Huntingdon child.

Michael Dowler, aged eight months, from Lamport Drive, Hartford, was born in Hinchingbrooke Hospital and was diagnosed with the condition when he was three weeks old.

His parents, Anna and Mark, contacted the ­Premier League champions knowing they had a trust fund to support charities.

Now the Old Trafford club has joined forces with the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to raise vital funds for children with the condition.

Anna said: "Michael will have to have medication every day for the rest of his life.

"He has just started having an inhaler. He tries to push the inhalers away from his mouth but he is used to the other medication as he has had it since he was a baby.

"We hope that funds raised through Manchester United will go some way to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis."

Mark Dowler said: "We were all so excited when we found out Manchester United were ­supporting the CF Trust as we are all big fans.

"Our favourite player is Michael Carrick and baby Michael already has his first Man U strip."

Currently, there is no cure for the disease and a sufferer's lungs slowly clog up, with an average life expectancy of just 31.

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is one of two national charities to benefit from a three-year partnership with Manchester United to fund vital research.

Each week, five babies are born with cystic fibrosis and three young lives are lost.

The funds raised by Manchester United will pay for the costs of the families testing out potentially life-saving treatment.

United chief executive David Gill said: "Manchester United has always made a strong commitment to our communities.

"Our new partnership will enable us to work with them to raise a significant amount of money throughout the three-year period and support a number of important projects.

"We are extremely proud of these partnerships and the young people who will be supported."

INFORMATION: The CF Trust is the UK's only national charity dedicated to all aspects of cystic fibrosis. CF is one of the world's most common life-threatening inherited diseases. Suffering from cystic fibrosis means the sufferer finds it hard to breathe and difficult to digest food because the tubes become clogged with mucus. The disease also affects the pancreas and bowel.