A YOUNG chorister with links to Cardigan and the choristers of St Thomas-on-The Bourne are to crowdfund and record a new Christmas charity single written by a royal composer to get local kids singing again

Thirteen-year-old Cai Thomas, who now lives in Farnham, Surrey with mum and dad Janey and James and younger brother and sister Dylan and Maia, is a chorister with the St Thomas-on-the-Bourne church choir.

But dad James will be known to many as local vet Dick Thomas’s son and was brought up in Cardigan before moving away.

BBC Radio 2 Young chorister of the Year finalist Cai and the choristers of St Thomas-on-The Bourne in Farnham have launched a crowdfunding campaign to record the song ‘Wherever You Are’ by the renowned Welsh composer Paul Mealor – who composed music for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011 – to raise money for brain tumour charity Robbie’s Rehab.

In an inspiring case of kids helping kids, Cai wants to give something back after his recent success. Last year, Cai recorded his debut album ‘Seren’, joined by the choir of St Thomas.

‘Seren’ was nominated both a Classic FM and Scala Radio album of the week and kept a place in the UK specialist classical charts for 10 weeks.

Robbie’s Rehab is a personal choice: Cai will donate all his royalties from the purchase and download of the single to the charity, set up by Robbie Keville, a pupil at Cai’s previous school Edgeborough.

Robbie set up the charity after he lost his mum to breast cancer five years before he died, aged 10, of a malignant brain tumour. The charity helps provide specialist medical professionals to help children with brain tumours and is run out of Southampton Hospital.