A selfless 10-year-old boy has sold his toys and sacrificed birthday presents to help children less fortunate than himself.

Josh Page needed to raise money so he could fly to Kenya and work for two weeks to prepare land for a new Nanyuki Preparatory School.

He got the idea from his St Albans and Potters Bar Tiska karate teacher, Eve Coles, who mentioned the trip in class and inspired Josh to come along.

The school is sponsored by a charity set up by Eve, Club Rafiki, which supports disadvantaged children attending the current prep school. She set up Club Rafiki after she volunteered for an orphanage in Kenya.

Josh managed to collect £1,000 for the project - in part by selling his toys and asking for donations rather than birthday presents.

This proved Josh’s commitment to the project to his mum, Mary-Ann Page, who will accompany her son to Africa.

She said: “I just think it’s amazing, it is a huge amount of money.

“It is expensive - the flights were £1,000 and we spent over £300 on vaccinations and we need about £500 each when we are over there - so it has all added up.

“But when you are that young and you have that thought process for other people, it’s shaping him for the future so I couldn’t say no.

“I am so proud.”

She thinks Josh learnt selflessness from his grandfather, who started a charity to support a Zimbabwean village before he passed away.

Josh will return to Bernards Heath Junior School in September after his charity trip during the summer holidays. As it is still the Kenyan students’ term-time, Josh will go to school with them while on the trip.

Mary-Ann and Josh fly back to the UK on August 9.

The young fundraiser said: “I want to be able to help the children of Nanyuki Prep School have access to some of the facilities that I am lucky enough to have in the UK; please help by donating whatever you can to help me help them.”

This is not the first time the youngster has raised money for charity - Josh raised £500 when he was about six years old by taking part in a fun run in aid of a Herts charity which supports families of children with Down’s Syndrome, Up on Downs.

To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/get-josh-to-kenya