SCOTT Benwell is hoping to travel to Canada to take part in a special ice hockey tournament in March.

The 11-year-old’s burning ambition is to play across the pond and he is currently fund raising as he needs £3,000 to make the dream trip come true.

This appeal was given a great boost on Saturday when the young player was mascot at the Basingstoke Bison’s home game against Bracknell and there was a collection during the game towards his target.

Benwell from Odiham has around a six year learning delay and also dyslexia and attends Samuel Cody Specialist Sports College.

He has been a member of SPICE programme for the past two years. which is run by the Slough Jets club and he trains at the Berkshire rink every week.

He is raising funds so he can play in the SHI International in Ontario, Canada which starts on March 14.

This is the largest special needs hockey tournament in the world, with teams from across North America and the Britain making the trip.

Benwell has a crowdfunding page and this can be found at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/scottbenwell