A man with Down's Syndrome has received 30,000 birthday cards from well wishers around the world after his mother made a touching Facebook appeal.
Manuel Parriseaux, from Calais, France, celebrated his 30th birthday on 22 November and his mother Jacqueline wanted to make this important milestone extra special.
On 3 November, she wrote the following message on her husband's Facebook: “I would like to make a request to all my Facebook friends - my son Manuel is turning 30 years old on 22 November and he loves to receive cards in the post.
“He has Down's syndrome. I'm writing to ask you to take a couple minutes to send him a little card and to pass this information on to your friends so the chain doesn't get broken.
"I thank you all in advance for your gesture, which will make my Manu so happy."
Jacqueline's first post went viral and was shared almost 120,000 times. As a result of its popularity, Facebook suspected the post was spam and deleted it.
But, determined to make her son's day, Jacqueline returned to Facebook and posted a new message (see above) to her own Facebook page.
Manu, who is the youngest of three children, received cards and gifts from across the world, including Australia, the United States and Africa.
"I don't understand why it got so big. Manuel is like us, he is moved to tears," his mother told the BBC.
Manuel's father Lucien told La Voix Du Nord: "The success of this initiative is great, it will make our son's day and we couldn't be happier."
“We would never have imagined the impact that a simple internet message could have in a few days, “ Jacqueline added.
“We are surprised by this outpouring of generosity and messages of support and kindness. The world is not indifferent after all.”
If you would like to send Manuel a birthday card, please make the envelope out as follows: Manuel Parisseaux, 36 rue Pablo-Neruda à Calais, France.