The family of a disabled one-year-old say he faces an uncertain future due to his rare eye condition.

Danny McDougall has an incurable eye condition that causes his eyes to constantly shake.

Diagnosed at just five months old with nystagmus, the youngster suffers relentless involuntary eye movements that leave him visually impaired, with virtually no depth perception and tilting his head to the side for comfort.

He also has plagiocephaly, also known as flat head syndrome, which means one side of his head is flat.

His parents, Carley and Darren McDougall, from Singleton, who both work part-time and also have three older daughters, say it is unusual for people with nystagmus to not suffer with a connected condition.

Mum Carley, 35, said life is a constant stream of visits to the doctor and health professionals will carry out further tests as the boy gets older.

Shockingly, she said the family discovered Danny’s condition while they were in hospital with daughter Saffron, now eight, who was battling meningitis and septicaemia.

Carley said: “Saffron was in intensive care for five weeks, and Danny was just five weeks old at this point.

“I had noticed Danny’s eye movements were rapid, like he was reading you, but because it was touch and go with Saffron I had maybe not paid it enough attention.

“While we were in hospital with her a nurse picked up on Danny’s eye movements and told me to get it checked.”

Thankfully, Saffron pulled through and although she is still in recovery today, she is on the mend.

Carley took Danny to the doctors who eventually gave him a diagnosis of nystagmus.

She added: “The doctors’ diagnosis was so bleak, they basically said ‘we don’t know if he’s going to be blind or has a brain tumour’ and we came away not knowing at all what was going to happen.

“He can’t navigate things properly because his depth perception is so off and he’s constantly falling over or into things.

“It’s a condition that he cannot control and there’s no cure.

“It can also change throughout the day depending on if he’s tired or upset, so it’s really difficult to measure how much he can see.

“He will probably never drive and will struggle crossing the road or navigating curbs.

“I just keep thinking that because of his depth perception and visual impairment, he will never be able to find his friends in the playground.”

The McDougalls are hoping to transform their back garden into a safe place for Danny to play by staging a makeover along the lines of those carried out by BBC programme DIY SOS, presented by Nick Knowles, pictured right.

In the show, the team issue a call to arms and recruit friends, family and local tradespeople to help transform the lives of families across Britain.

The McDougalls, who have lived in their Singleton Hill home for nine years are appealing for builders, workers, labourers or the green-fingered to help them revamp their garden into somewhere Danny will be safe.

The current layout is too dangerous for the disabled one-year-old but health professionals have said it could provide a great place to develop his sight.

The youngster is also incredibly sensitive to sunlight and used to wince every time he went outside but now, thanks to new glasses, he can go outside.

Danny’s grandmother, Patti McDougall, said she had bought a fair amount of the necessary materials for the conversion but now the family are appealing for more help.

She said: “We’re not asking for a freebie but just someone who can do the work well and as cheap as possible.

“My son, boyfriend and I are all willing to attempt the decking but we’re looking for someone to take charge with advice or come along to order us about.

“Tea and cakes would be plentiful!”

They plan to start the work over the weekend of April 11 and 12.

For more information visit the nystagmus network site.