GIANT strides have been made by a diehard football fan to help transform a youngster's life with junior and senior clubs lending a hand.

Back in July, Tommy Adams, of the Kilmarnock FC commercial team, started out on an odyssey of football grounds which would ultimately take him 900 miles, to raise money for a dog to help support Lewis Golightly (7) from the town, who suffers from autism.

It was entitled Tommy's Trek.

The idea was for Tommy, who has suffered from spina bifida since birth, to do laps around Kilmarnock FC, Whitletts Victoria, Troon FC, St Mirren FC, Beith Juniors, Auchinleck Talbot, Darvel Juniors, Hurlford United, New Douglas Park, home of Hamilton Accies and Cliftonhill (Albion Rovers FC). The clubs all gave him sponsorship for his laps.

Tommy then returned to Kilmarnock to do more laps at the open day before being asked to Kaiserslautern in Germany after some of their fans took part in the opening lap at Rugby Park. Bobby Foster (6), who is an Ayr United fan walked round Rugby Park with me after his dad paid for him to do the trek.

And he heads to Germany on Friday for the final lap on Sunday round Kaiserslautern's stadium before their game against FC Bielefeld, with Martin Wagner, who played for the hosts against Kilmarnock in Europe back in the 1990s, joining him along with Barry Richmond of the Killie Trust. That will be the last Tommy's Trek. At the end of the lap he will meet Horst Ekcel an ex-Kaiserslautern player is meeting me on the pitch where he won the World Cup with West Germany in 1954.

Tommy said: "The money from the trek is for a special dog to help Lewis, who is autistic.

In all the dog costs £7500 and they now have the money for it. They said any excess money will go to Willowbank School in Kilmarnock, which Lewis attends. I have connections with all the clubs I have visited and they have been very generous in giving me donations and I am grateful to them all. Thank you for allowing us to take this journey and to each and every person who put their hand in their pocket and everyone who joined me on the laps it was an honour to walk beside you.

To Kilmarnock football club thank you for all the help behind the scenes

"Kaiserslautern want to give money towards Lewis's future by doing the last lap on Sunday and three Albion Rovers fans, Andrew Sharkey, Lewis Stewart and Scott Mills are also supporting his future by walking from Coatbridge to Ayr overnight - 58 miles - from December 1 into December 2 for the game against Ayr United at Somerset Park.

"When I did the last lap at Rugby Park, Lewis's mum Pamela, who works at Kilmarnock FC, said thanks and that I had changed her family's life and I will never forget her saying that, it made it all worthwhile. People have been very supportive and I am very grateful to them."

This fundraising venture is the second Tommy's Trek, following on from a fundraiser two years ago for former player Mark Reilly, whose daughter Dionne has Rett Syndrome and he raised £5,500 for a special wheelchair with the excess of that money going to the Reverse Rett charity.