A British toddler, at just three years old, is already taller than children twice his age: he is almost 1.20 metres tall.

James Whatley, from Redhill, Surrey, is one of the tallest toddlers in the UK, approximately TWICE the height of other children his age.

The toddler suffers from Sotos syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes growth spurts.

The syndrome, which affects one in 20,000 people, also affected his ability to speak and walk and his mother Michelle spoke about his condition to raise awareness of Jeans for Genes day.

Michelle, 34, said: “I’m tall. My husband is tall. He’s always been tall, but he’s about the same height as my daughter and she’s five.”

“He didn’t look like a normal newborn. He had to go to a special care facility because he was so big.

“We were all desperate. We didn’t know what was wrong with him. We were all hysterical and in tears.

“When I came to visit him, I saw this huge baby next to these others in incubators because they were born premature and weighed 800 grams, and he was filling up his incubator.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, what’s wrong with him?'”

It is expected that the lanky James will not stop growing until he hits puberty – and is predicted to reach a height of 6ft 7in.

James, who attends Brooklands special school in Reigate, still cannot speak and has to use an iPad to point to the games he wants to play. Unlike most children his age, he also has to crawl to get around.

Michelle said: “He has done a great job since he has been there, he has really come on a lot.

“Many people are nervous in the early stages. It’s awful, the whole thing is bleak and hopeless.

“But I look at him and he’s so happy and he just keeps going.”

Michelle and her husband Scott now hope that by talking about James’s plight, they can educate people about his disability and projects like Jeans for Genes.

She explained: “So when you have a child, you know what the future holds for them. You know what to look for and what decisions to make.”

“Some people stare at James because they are not used to his type of illness. We hope this will help raise awareness for children with special needs.”

“As long as they are making progress and you are helping them to progress, you can do it.

“Just keep going. Everyone has their own problems and Soto’s is just another one we have to deal with, but just keep going.”

More information about Jeans for Genes Click here