Longton boy's heartbreaking plea to Prime Minister to help his poorly twin brother
11-year-old Ben Griffiths has severe epilepsy and his family say they can't access medicinal cannabis on the NHS
An 11-year-old boy from Longton's made an emotional plea to the Prime Minister on behalf of his poorly twin brother.
Families who've been denied a prescription for medicinal cannabis - despite it being legal on the NHS - are gathering outside Downing Street today urging leaders to help them.
Adam Griffith's brother Ben has severe epilepsy.
His family said before Ben was taking medicinal cannabis, he was having 200-300 life-threatening seizures a day and now it's down to half a dozen.
Despite the law changing and medicinal cannabis being legalised on the NHS in June 2018, dozens of families say they can't access it and are still having to pay thousands of pounds for it privately.
Ben's family said they're having to pay ÂŁ2000 a month for the drug.
Adam has now written a letter to Boris Johnson telling him at one stage he thought his brother was going to die from having hundreds of seizures a day.
Adam and Ben's mum Joanne said: "It explains how he felt as Ben's twin with him being in hospital, how he thought his twin brother was going to die and how life is now and how he gets to spend time with his brother.
"It was quite a heart-breaking, emotional letter to read."
Joanne said families can't go on paying thousands of pounds every month: "Some have run out of monies and their children have gone into hospital and intensive care situations, it's just absolutely dire.
"We need some help and I'm pleading with Boris Johnson to help.
"These children matter to us, our families matter. It's not just the children that suffer when the parents run out of funds and they're trying to fundraise and they're selling houses and belongings...it's also the other children with the family that are suffering."