A book-obsessed young writer has put pen to paper to compose a story about a monkey-faced bat, all to raise funds in memory of his older brother.

Paddy Newton, 6, from Crosspool is selling copies of his short story, ‘The Adventure to Find the Monkey-faced Bat’ in aid of The Children’s Hospital Charity, a cause championed by his family since older brother Benjamin passed away in 2009 aged just 20 days.

Paddy originally wrote the piece for BBC Radio 2’s 500 Words story competition. In the story, protagonist Sam, 70 – named after his grandads and younger brother – sets out on a grand adventure to find the Fijian monkey-faced bat. Featuring hand-drawn illustrations and maps, the story follows Sam and his young sidekick James on their journey.

“He is a real bookworm” said dad, Dan. “He reads for at least an hour and a half every night, and he is particularly interested in reading about other countries and travel.”

Some of Paddy’s favourite stories include the Boy Who Biked the World series by Alastair Humphries, and Grandpa’s Great Escape by David Walliams, and with those as inspiration he set out writing the story over a few weeks.

“We are so proud of what he has come up with” added Dan. “He spent a while batting about a few ideas, and when he found one he liked he just went for it. I have sent a copy to both Alastair Humphries and David Walliams, which I hope they enjoy!”

Dan, along with wife Kerry and their two surviving sons Samuel and Paddy, have to date raised more than £17,000 in memory of their little boy Benjamin. The youngster died after contracting pneumonia on February 11^th 2009.

Caitlin Hallatt, community fundraiser at The Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We love Patrick’s story – it is a great mix of adventure and geography, with a bit of Yorkshire dialect thrown in! His support for our charity is really heartwarming. We always love to see young children giving something back to our hospital, especially when there is such a personal connection. Thank you Paddy!”

Paddy is selling his story book in exchange for a minimum donation of £1. He has so far raised £102 by selling 25 of his 50 copies. To find out how to get a copy, or to make a donation, visit Paddy's JustGiving page.