Manu and his parents with just some of his thousands of cards

Before long, cards started arriving for Manuel - first by the dozen, and then by the thousand, with a truck needed to deliver them in crates.

A rush of 3,000 on Manuel's birthday alone this weekend pushed the total number of cards to more than 30,000, including gifts of chocolate, key rings and cakes.

"Be patient because Manu wants to open his cards one by one," an update from his family on Facebook read.

Manu wants to keep and display all the cards he receives, although the family says that they will be unable to reply to each and every message.

"We would never have imagined the impact that a simple internet message could have in a few days," Jacqueline told the French newspaper La Voix du Nord. "We are surprised by this outpouring of generosity and messages of support and kindness. The world is not indifferent after all."

Around one in every 1000 babies born in the UK will have Down’s syndrome, a genetic condition caused by the presence of an extra chromosome 21 in the body’s cells.

Read more about random acts of kindness in our round-up of the world's most inspiring and generous gestures.

Photos: Facebook/ La Voix du Nord

"The world is not indifferent after all" Man with Down's syndrome moved to tears after mum's Facebook campaign sparks 30,000 cards for his 30th birthday