A MENTAL health nurse is setting up a trust fund to help Ali Ismaeel Abbas, the boy who lost both arms during the war in Iraq.

Dave Gillespie, from Warndon, said the fund was for the people of Worcestershire to express their sympathies to the tragic fate of the 13-year-old, who has become a symbol for suffering in the war-scarred country.

And he is urging people to back the fund.

"I am encouraging schools, businesses and organisations to do something in the way of fund-raising," he said.

"They can do things like have collections, or a school could hold some sort of event, like a fete, where funds can be raised."

Ali, who was injured in a missile attack, is now in Kuwait, undergoing treatment. Not only has he lost both arms, but he has burns over most of his body and the members of his immediate family have also been killed.

Mr Gillespie, a registered mental health nurse, said he has an idea of Ali's state of mind.

"He would be suffering from massive emotional disorder," he said, "There is also the potential that he would have post traumatic stress disorder.

"When children go through this kind of thing early in life it can lead to mental health problems in the future.

"I can only imagine what it must have been like to have bombs dropped on your house then realise your family has disappeared and you have lost your arms.

"I was moved to do something about it," said 42-year-old Mr Gillespie, who works at Newtown Hospital, Worcester.

He aims to have the trust fund established within the next fortnight and plans to set the ball rolling by making a deposit of around £50.

People can also make a deposit at Lloyds TSB in New Road, St John's and The Cross, in Worcester.

Young Ali recovering from his first round of life saving surgery.

In Kuwait, plastic surgeon Dr Imad Najada said Ali is recovering well from his operation and his appetite has begun to return.

"He's still stable. He's had a blood transfusion and he's in good shape. He's awake and speaking," he said.

"He asked to have Iraqi food - a shish kebab. People from the Ministry of Health went to get it for him from the restaurant outside the hospital."