29 July 2010 Last updated at 14:19 ET

Mother warns of bogus Derby fundraiser

A woman reported to be falsely taking money for a sick child is "disgusting", according to the boy's mother.

Joshua Price is likely to lose his eye

Joshua Price, seven, from Derby, has Coats' Disease, a rare condition which has made him blind in one eye.

Corrina Price said she was stunned to hear a woman had been asking for donations for Joshua from passers-by outside a city shopping centre.

She added the family was not collecting money. Police said they were investigating the reports.

Coats' Disease, which affects about one child in 75,000, causes abnormal development of blood vessels in the retina.

Petition campaign

Joshua may have his left eye surgically removed later in the year.

Mrs Price said there had been reports of a woman in her 30s, with short curly blonde hair, approaching people near the Westfield centre in Derby.

She said: "I have no words to describe how I feel about this woman - apart from to say it is absolutely disgusting.

"How can someone do that? To make money off poorly babies. How does she sleep at night?"

She added: "It is horrible - she could be in the same situation one day."

Mrs Price said they were not yet collecting any money but were running a Facebook page to raise awareness of the condition and collecting signatures for a petition.