A MOTHER who received more than £3,500 from heavyweight heroes the Thong Rangers last night said it would open new doors for her autistic son.

Rosemary and Barry Northing had tears in their eyes when they found out how much money had been raised to help three-year-old Kaylan.

The Thong Rangers – a group of men from Didcot who perform physical feats for charity – carried an 85lb kerbstone around a car park for 12 hours last month.

So far donations from the public have topped £3,500.

Kaylan was diagnosed with autism in July last year and has severe speech and mobility problems.

His family said his speech and movement deteriorated months after having the combined Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination in May 2007.

Mrs Northing, 26, of Tyburn Glen, Didcot, said: “It made me and my husband cry, because they worked out we’ve got about £3,500. We couldn’t believe it.

“It’s will make a significant difference, because it means we can secure biomedical interventions, which aren’t available with NHS funding, and we can look at trying out other educational therapies we wouldn’t have been able to afford before. It will open so many doors for Kaylan.”

In the first year of Kaylan’s diagnosis, private appointments, therapy sessions and autism courses cost about £10,000.

Thong Ranger organiser Cliff Oakes, 46, of Kynaston Road, Didcot, said: “My friend saw a message they had put online and knew the sort of work we did. He gave me their phone number and it went from there.

“They were so grateful and couldn’t thank us enough. It’s what we love to do.”

Some parents delayed their child’s MMR immunisation or refused to allow their children to have the vaccination after a research paper published in 1998 suggested there might be a link between MMR and autism.

However, experts found no credible scientific evidence to link the jab with autism.

Mrs Northing, who also has a daughter, Amber, one, warned parents to consider their children’s medical history and seek independent advice before proceeding with the vaccine.

She said: “I believe Kaylan was born with the genetic pre-disposition for autism and the vaccination exacerbated the symptoms. I regret giving him the MMR vaccine, because I don’t think he was strong enough the handle it, because of his poor immune system, which he was born with.

“He probably would still be autistic, but maybe he would have be functioning better.

“But despite everything, he’s really happy and he gives amazing cuddles. Maybe one day he will be able to say ‘Mum’ or ‘Dad’ again.”

Tom Aubrey-Fletcher, of Oxfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust, said people should not be concerned about autism and MMR and that autism was well known long before MMR was used.

He added: “There’s no evidence, other than coincidence, to link MMR with autism.”