This will never be over, says Alex’s mother

Lifting his eight-year-old daughter doesn’t knock a feather out of John Butler, but why would it when she weighs just two-and-a-half stone.

Lifting Alex is a way of life for John and his wife Sonya because effectively they are their little girl’s arms and legs.

Five-year-old Robyn, their middle child, is that vital set of eyes to watch out for her older sister when her parents can’t be with her while she’s at school.