A father's bid for life-saving surgery has become 'more urgent than ever'.

Lee Baker, of Margate, needs to raise £16,000 for a stomach pacemaker, as he is unable to eat solid food due to sarcoidosis.

Since featuring in Thanet Extra last December, the father-of-four's weight has dropped rapidly to 9.5 stone.

Sarcoidosis is an internal organ disease with causes growth on organs. He also has gastroparesis, which is a delay in gastric emptying that stops the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine.

His sister Kelly Peoples in on a mission to help Mr Baker meet his target. She'll be taking part in the Just Walk event in May - a charity walk scheme where participants can walk to raise funds for their chosen organisation.

Kelly said: "My brother's weight loss has been dramatic December and he now weights only 9.5 stone.

"As such, the need to raise money for his life-saving surgery has become more urgent than ever.

"The photos show how much the illness has taken toll and how much more he is deteriorating since your last article.

"I will be aiming to complete the 25k walk in order to raise as much as possible for my brother's crowd funding page.

"This has been set up in order to raise the amount required for my brother to have a stomach pacemaker fitted privately, which could save his life."

Within a week of starting to fundraise, £800 had already been donated and total fundraising efforts currently stand at more than £9,000- but there's still a long way to go to meet the target.

Kelly added: "I aim to try and raise as much more than that in the next few weeks.

"I work at the Bank of America, and hoping that colleagues will sponsor me so we can get closer to the amount required."

Kelly will be taking part in the fundraising run on Saturday, May 12, which starts at end at Goodwood Park Racecourse in Chichester.

To donate, go to https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lee-baker