A LITTLE boy with a big love of diggers will be given a special send-off after the community rallied to help pay for his funeral.

Alfie Stephen O’Neill died on November 17 at Southampton General Hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest following an epileptic fit.

The three-and-a-half-year-old, from Basingstoke, was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was just one-and-a-half, and suffered with regular seizures.

His mother, Chloe O’Neill, said her little boy had endured an increased number of fits in the two weeks prior to his death.

On Thursday, November 12, Alfie had a fit at 10am and recovered as normal, but when Chloe went to check on him later he had turned blue. The 20-year-old said: “He was all floppy. I called an ambulance and they came out and they said that he was fine and not to take him to hospital.”

But later that day Alfie suffered another fit, and again turned blue. Chloe performed CPR whilst waiting for an ambulance, before paramedics arrived and took over.

Alfie’s heart re-started in hospital, and he was sedated and fell into a coma, before being transferred to Southampton General Hospital where he was admitted to intensive care.

An MRI scan was arranged and Chloe said: “We thought the worst that could come back was that he would be physically disabled and in a wheelchair. But on Monday morning they took us into a side-room and said his brain was dead and he wouldn’t wake up again.”

The family had Alfie christened in hospital, before making the heartbreaking decision to let him go. Alfie died at 4.45pm on November 17.

Chloe described her little boy as “lovely”, adding: “He was a good lad. He was very clever and polite. He always said thank you and please.”

Following his death, Chloe had the agonising task of arranging Alfie’s funeral, and wanted her son to receive the special send-off he deserved.

Daily Echo: Chloe O'Neill and a picture of Alfie.

The family turned to Facebook to appeal for help in finding a JCB digger to take Alfie to his final resting place, and were amazed by the response.

A friend also set up a Go Fund Me page, which raised thousands of pounds within a few days to help the family cover the cost of the funeral.

Chloe said: “There were people from America and anonymous donors. So many people shared it. At a time like this the community came together to help.”

Around 150 people are expected to attend Alfie’s funeral on December 7, including staff from Cornerstones Nursery, in Priestley Road, where Alfie was a pupil.

The family are planning on decorating his coffin with superhero art, and hope that he will be taken in a JCB, although the details of this are still being arranged.

His grandmother, Claire O’Neill, from Popley, said: “He loved JCBs and had a digger in the garden.”