A CHARITY which helps disabled children to walk has smashed its fundraising target for 2009.

The Footsteps Foundation, in Warborough, had aimed to raise £125,000 by Christmas, but donations for the year already top £143,000.

Founder Pippa Hoyer Millar paid tribute to the people of Oxfordshire for their “incredible” generosity.

She said: “We are amazed by the support we are getting.

“The public has really taken Footsteps Foundation and all that we do for neurologically disabled children under their wing.

“It is just incredible that even during times of a recession people are prepared to do anything they can to help disabled children reach their maximum potential.”

The foundation helps children with neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy and brain damage receive intensive physiotherapy.

Many of the children would otherwise not reach their full potential and might never sit, crawl and walk.

Businesses and clubs across the county raised funds in different ways.

South Moreton Boxing Club raised £3,000 at its fundraising fight-night on December 5.

The “Christmas Cracker Rumble” attracted a capacity crowd of 500 to Wallingford’s Regal Centre, which saw 20 boxers – including a policeman, a plumber and a computer salesman – competing in 10 fights.

Guests included former British heavyweight champion Julius Francis and boxing promoter Frank Maloney.

Savills Oxford estate agents raised £5,000 through a series of events, including a golf day, football tournament, and the Three Peaks Challenge.

Office manager Claire Sutton said: “The foundation is such a worthwhile cause and we are delighted to have raised this money for them.”

Wallingford Rotary Club handed over a cheque for £500 after its Last Night of The Proms concert in Benson Village Hall in October.

North Oxford Golf Club donated £5,300, raised through the Captain’s Drive-In competition, a charity dinner and club professional Lee Jackson’s pledge to donate £1 for every birdie he achieved in competitions over the year.

Club captain Ian Booth said: “We saw Footsteps on the television and saw these children’s plight and it touched everyone. We are delighted to have been able to help such a worthwhile cause.”

Further afield, Premier League footballers Phil Neville, Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas helped raise £1,640 with an online auction.