�A Romford girl’s family has managed to raise �15,000 in a month so she can have an operation to take her first steps.

Ellie-Louise Sudbury, nine, has Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy.

It means the muscles in her arms and legs are tight and painful, which prevents her from walking, and she has to use a wheelchair.

Her family had until the end of January to raise a total of �45,000 to pay for the operation in March.

At the beginning of January, they were �15,000 short of the target.

But a flurry of last-minute donations meant that the family managed to get the full total last week.

The latest donations include one from The New Inn Pub, in Gidea Park, which has raised a total of �20,520 since September through fundraising events.

Ellie-Louise’s mum, Siobhan Stevens, of Gobions Avenue, said: “We never imagined anyone would be able to raise so much for us and I want to say a massive big thank you to them for helping us.

“Without them and all the other fundraising help we had, Ellie-Louise wouldn’t be able to have this operation. It means that we now have enough money for the operation, her physio treatment and the specialist equipment she will need to use when she gets back from America.”

Ellie-Louise will undergo a Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy procedure in Missouri on her spinal cord and legs followed by intensive therapy.

The operation involves cutting a nerve in her spine and then operating on the muscles in her legs. She will then need a month of therapy to help her walk.

n The family will be raising extra money for flights and accommodation by holding a fundraising race night at the Aspen Tree pub, Gobions Avenue, Collier Row, on February 18, from 7.30pm. They will also be bag packing at Marks & Spencer in Romford on January 28 and February 11 from 10am to 5pm.