An Irvine schoolboy, born with half his arm missing, will finally get to fulfil his lifelong dream of learning to ride his bike, after receiving a bionic arm.

Pierce Gilmour received the £12,000 ‘Hero Arm’ last week thanks to an anonymous donor from Open Bionics.

The world’s first medically approved 3D print bionic arm, the ‘hero arm’ was created by Open Bionics to improve the standard of life for people like Pierce.

The 11-year-old Loudoun Montgomery pupil has already turned his disability into a superpower and has taken his new arm to school to show his pals.

His emotional mum Claire Owens, 44, said she was thrilled her son was chosen for the hero arm.

Speaking exclusively to the Times, she said: “It’s been a long time coming. He was born with his forearm on his right side missing.

“We first found out about Open Bionics about three years ago but they cost £12,000 and we just don’t have that kind of money.

“But then an anonymous donor came forward and donated to Open Bionics and they called to say Pierce was one of the lucky ones who was going to be fitted for the bionic arm.

“I was so happy. It was very emotional. It’s just so wonderful he has been given this opportunity. He was very excited when it arrived and took it into  school to show his friends.

“He is going to the academy next year and I was worried that his disability might hold him back in technical classes but now he has the bionic arm he will be able to do the same as other kids.

“He has had a bike for a few years now and tried once to ride it and fell off. he was so disappointed, but now he has the bionic arm he might finally be able to ride it.”

Claire says Pierce’s disability was not picked up initially during her pregnancy, but due to a genetic heart problem that runs in her family she had to go for a late scan and doctors discovered part of her baby’s arm was missing when she was eight months pregnant.

She said: “It wasn’t picked up at my 12-week or 20-week scans, but then they saw it when I had a late scan. To be honest that news might be scary to some people but I was just so thankful he didn’t have anything wrong with his heart, I didn’t care about the arm. It was actually a relief.”

Claire, who is also mum to five-year-old Lily, says she and fiancé Colin Dickson, 46, have been amazed at how Pierce has adapted.

She said: “He is just like every other 11-year-old boy, he loves playing his X-box, but has adapted by using his chin, but now he might be able to use both hands like everyone else.

“The Hero Arm will take a while for him to get used to, but we have learned over the years that Pierce can just adapt to anything. He is a special wee boy.”