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Comedian steps in to help Layla's appeal




Layla with her mum Lydia
Layla with her mum Lydia

A schoolgirl’s fundraising appeal was boosted by £10,000 overnight after a celebrity stepped in to help.

Last week, the Mercury reported that Layla James has cerebral palsy and hopes to raise £25,000 to pay for surgery to improve the muscles in her legs.

The condition makes day-to-day living difficult and painful, but the selective dorsal rhizotomy operation would transform her life and allow her to keep up with her friends and siblings.

Layla’s family had raised £1,000 on a Justgiving page but now stands at £11,600 after comedian Jason Manford called on Facebook followers to support the appeal on Friday night.

Jason regularly runs a ‘charity ninjas’ appeal where he chooses a good cause and asks fans to anonymously donate a small amount each. He then deletes the post so the recipients wake up in the morning having reached their target with no idea of how it happened.

Layla’s mum Lydia Neale, of Pentland Court, Oakham, said: “It’s crazy. I couldn’t believe it when I looked on the page and it just kept going up and up. I couldn’t work out what was going on at first until someone shared the post with me.”

Jason later messaged Lydia on Instagram saying he didn’t think he would be able to raise the full amount but hoped to reach £5,000.

She said: “To get £11,000 has knocked a whole year off our fundrasing.”

Layla, six, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 14 months old. Initially it didn’t cause too many problems but as she gets older, the condition causes more wear on Layla’s muscles.

Since the family launched their appeal, it has been announced that some hospitals will offer it to qualifying patients.

Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/laylaslegs



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