VIDEO: Band of brothers performs acoustic set for Peterborough man suffering from Motor Neurone Disease

Gary Radley, 62 is being treated by the specialist Respiratory Support and Sleep Centre team, staying at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge.

As a special request while enduring the degenerative condition, he asked if staff could arrange for his four sons, who are in a Peterborough band called Endeavour, to come and play for him.

Of course, the RSSC team were only too happy to make it happen.

It was a very moving moment when Brandon, 24, Shawn, 32, Garren, 23, and Shane, 33 gathered around his bed, which had been wheeled down from the third floor into the hospital grounds for better social distancing, to play a few acoustic songs including covers of Foo Fighters ‘Wheels’ and ‘Learn To Fly’ to lift his spirits. A fifth member of the band, friend Kieran Eassom, was not present for the event.

Gary, who has been in hospital since June, first at Peterborough City Hospital and then the Royal Papworth at the start of September. He said: “Seeing my boys has given me a massive boost. My aim is to get home and spend whatever time I have left with my partner Valerie and the rest of my family.

“I am so grateful to the NHS for everything they’ve done for me and my family over the years.”

“Dad is the most amazing man and loves Foo Fighters too,” Shawn said. “This was a very special thing for us to be able to do and we are grateful to Royal Papworth Hospital and their amazing staff for helping to make this happen. He has always been a very big part of the band and is a very proud dad.”

Garren added: “Our dad has been our driver, our roadie, our engineer, our merchandise guy, our manager and our security, but as well as that he is our best mate. We know how much he loves music and how happy it makes him to watch us play, which is why it means the world to us that Royal Papworth Hospital allowed us to come and visit and perform some of his favourite songs.”

Motor neurone disease occurs when nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord called motor neurones stop working properly. They control important muscle activity, such as gripping and walking. Symptoms include muscle weakness, twitches, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. The symptoms get worse over time and MND is always fatal.

There is currently no effective treatment for the disease a third of people with MND will die within a year of diagnosis, and half of people with MND will die within two years, so it is very fast progressing.