A brave Sidcup boy with a rare terminal illness has been awarded an honorary black belt in Taekwondo for his inner strength.

Six-year-old Tyler suffers with Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), a genetic disease that is shutting down his vital organs irreversibly.

The martial arts honour is part of an effort made by the club for Dad Ryan and Mum Katie Aldridge who want to raise awareness of the vicious disease killing their son - the same illness that killed Tyler's uncle Billy when he was 28-years-old.

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DJS Taekwondo Academy honours Tyler with black belt

Mr Aldridge, 28, of Sydney Road, said: “There is no cure.

“It is the rapidness of Tyler’s deterioration which is really hard to see.

“The way we have worked is to be as normal as possible.”

As part of the Aldridge’s reality, daughter Georgia, 11, has been attending the young ninja warriors club for the last five months and has been tipped as a great student if she continues.

On what the club has done for his daughter, Mr Aldridge said: “Tyler has touched a lot of people as well as Georgia.

“She’s been greatly affected by what’s happened to her brother.

“She wants to do anything for him and Taekwondo is her release.”

“She is halfway between sane and being heartbroken.”

ALD occurs when our genes' X chromosomes become deficient.

Fatty acid digestive enzymes stop breaking down fats and instead build up in the brain, damaging the sheath-like myelin that surrounds nerves.

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Daughter Georgia, 11, has been tipped as a future star in Taekwondo

This can cause seizures and hyperactivity, as well as causing problems with speaking, listening and understanding verbal instructions.

When the family took Tyler to the hospital it was discovered that 13 per cent of his brain had been damaged as a result of the disease and that his state was too severe for anything to be done.

Martial Arts instructor, Daniel Simpson, 42, who teaches Georgia, was honoured to bestow the Sidcup boy fighter with the black belt.

Mr Simpson, who runs the DJS Taekwondo Academy said: “It is to award Tyler’s fighting spirit and determination.

“His sister could do incredibly well.

“The sport is about belief and an having an adamant spirit which Tyler has.”

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