An autistic boy who just wants to play with his train set keeps being snapped by a photographer for a stock image library, sources have revealed.

Finley Rice, six, has been carefully trying to recreate all of Sodor’s railway lines on the floor of his bedroom, but the flashing lights of the camera are reportedly really putting him off. 

“I just want to play with my trains!” wailed Rice. “But no, every time I get out the engines, or start assembling the tracks, there’s that telltale click-click-click of the camera. I wouldn’t mind if it was a paid gig but apparently it’s all about ‘raising awareness’.” 

He continued: “If you type ‘autism’ into a stock image library there’s just dozens of pictures of me with my trains. Sometimes my mum’s in them too, especially if she’s looking tired, or staring off into space, or slightly out of focus in the middle distance.”

“It’s weird: it never happens when I’m smiling, or dancing to K-Pop Demon Hunters with my sister, or pretending to be a cat. When I’m a cat I knock all the engines off the tracks, hahaha. Meow. MEOWWWW I’M A CAT.”

The interview resumed 37 minutes later, once Rice had finally tired of being a cat. 

When asked if he would ever pack away his trains for good, Rice said: “I don’t think I’m going to get any peace and quiet with my locomotives, but I’m making the best of it. I’ve just picked up a sponsorship deal with Thameslink. It’s great! I get money, and apparently I’m their last hope to make the company look good.”

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