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Like many other 13-year-old boys, Dion Evans enjoys playing The Lord of the Rings on his PlayStation and proudly wears the rugby shirt of his native Wales. But unlike most of his peers, Dion has Down’s syndrome and kidney failure and requires round-the-clock care from his mother, Nicola. He takes a variety of drugs day and night and has a strictly regulated diet, prompting concern far beyond the typical worries expected from a mother with a teenage son.

“If he so much as eats a banana he could have a heart attack, so the kitchen door is locked at night just in case he comes down and fancies a snack,” she said. The front door of their semi-detached home in Gelligaer, South Wales, is opened by a four-digit code, “which Dion can’t know, because he isn’t aware of the danger of the road outside”.

Dion’s health problems are compounded by blood poisoning, which means that he is not yet eligible for a kidney transplant and is susceptible to life-threatening infections.

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Ms Evans, 35, a single mother who does not drive, has to accompany him to hospital in an ambulance for three hours of dialysis three times a week. Her son is “happy-go-lucky, and good as gold”, she said, but the strains of looking after him, along with his younger sisters, Naomi, 10, and Ebony, 7, are considerable. “I had Dion when I was 21 and found out he had Down’s 20 minutes after the birth,” she said. “After that his father didn’t want to know and ran off. It has become our life, going in and out of hospital.”

This is where Action for Children, a charity being supported by The Times Christmas Appeal, comes in. In one of many shared-care schemes that the charity operates, David and Wendy West, from Oakdale, near Blackwood, South Wales, now look after Dion for a weekend every fortnight, offering Ms Evans a respite from the demands of his constant care.

“He just becomes part of the family every other weekend,” Mrs West, who has two daughters of her own, said. “We go walking the dogs, to the cinema, out for a picnic or to church on a Sunday. Whatever we are doing, he fits in.”

Having looked after Dion for seven years, the Wests are familiar with his medication and dietary needs, much of which fills the little Spider-Man suitcase that he brings with him. They became interested in shared care as a less committed option after considering long-term fostering, and now look after Sian, 18, who has Williams syndrome, a rare condition that results in learning and developmental problems.

Mr West, 50, a train driver, said that there had been six months of red tape before the family could become eligible but that it had been worth it.

“There can be tensions, as there might be when you are looking after someone else’s child on a long-term basis, but we try and keep what we do on a fairly professional level,” he said. “We want it to work for Dion, who can be a bit more independent when he is with us, but if something goes wrong we know what to look out for.”

The Wests do not do it for the money, which is a nominal foster care allowance of £2.40 an hour, but for enjoyment and satisfaction and the benefits for their daughters, Sophie, 15, and Gemma, 17.

Barclays will donate £1 to Action for Children for every £1 donated by Times readers