Fund to aid mosquito bite dad Colin Whiteside has now soared past £29,000

Father-of-two Colin Whiteside has been left seriously ill and suffering from “locked-in syndrome” after being bitten by a mosquito in Sri Lanka.

His family and friends launched a fund-raising appeal with a £30,000 target to help bring him home.

The amount raised stood tonight (Thursday July 25) at £29,239 – just a few hundred pounds short of the total.

Colin, 52, from Bamber Bridge, was taken to hospital in Colombo around two weeks ago with a fever.

He is believed to have contracted dengue fever as a result of a mosqui?to bite.

The scaffolding manager, who was working in Sri Lanka, then contracted pneumonia and sepsis – and suffered a catastrophic stroke.

A JustGiving appeal was launched to help meet Colin’s escalating hospital costs which are not covered by insurance.

The fund's total has been rising steadily in the last week as a result of press and social media coverage.

Colin’s son-in-law Stephen Green said the response to the appeal had been “unbelievable.”

Stephen said there was no change in Colin's condition.

Discussions were being held with medical staff and others about how and when he could be brought home to England.