FRONTLINE GRANDAD'S LITTLE SMILERS

THE smiles of Kye Trinder and his baby sister Ffion will be the best Christmas present ever for their grandad RAF Auxiliary Sergeant Ian Fereday.

Because just a few weeks ago three-year-old Kye was on the verge of DEATH due to a severe bout of pneumonia.

On Christmas Day his mum Heather Trinder, 22, will get the toddler and his four-month-old sis on her webcam so that grandpa Ian, 48, can see for himself how well they are doing.

The 48-year-old, from Ebbw Vale, South Wales, is serving in danger zone Kandahar, Afghanistan, and was not told about how poorly Kye was until the little lad was on the mend.

Receptionist Heather, from Oxford, explained: "Kye is the apple of my dad's eye. We didn't want to tell him because we knew he would want to come home.

"He'll love seeing how well Kye has recovered at Christmas." Ian's wife of 14 years, Beverly, added: "At least he has a laptop now so he can do that sort of thing. When he was in Iraq it was just one 30-minute phonecard a week.

"Now we can chat on instant messaging, so we're always in touch."

But Bev's still not looking forward to Christmas without him.

She said: "I'm going to my sister's but I am really going to miss Ian. It will be hard. He's the life and soul of the party."

This article has 2 comments