Boy becomes a soldier for a day

Trouper: Ricky Mayhew wears army green... and a grin

British soldiers took time out from training on Thursday to spend time with a boy from Suffolk who is suffering from cancer.

Ricky Mayhew, 11, asked a charity which grants wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses if he could be a soldier for a day.

The Make-A-Wish foundation arranged a day out with the Light Dragoons in Swanton Morley, Norfolk, and Ricky happily donned combat fatigues, fired an automatic weapon and rode in a Spartan armoured personnel carrier.

His mother, Hayley Mickelsen, said: "Today just means the world to me, seeing Ricky how he was two years ago and seeing how he is today is just amazing."

Ricky has an inoperable brain tumour and has lost the sight in one eye, but his doctors at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge say he is responding well to treatment.

Ricky told BBC Look East he looked forward to sharing the details with his friends at home.

He said: "I'm saying it was a really exciting day, and getting them all jealous, I think."