A sponsored walk was held in aid of the Alicia Pannell fund, and raised nearly £1,300 – more than twice what was expected.

The cash will now go towards buying five-year-old Alicia a special hydrotherapy bath to help with her severe cerebral palsy.

The bath will cost £10,000 and Alicia's parents say the sponsored walk efforts will now play a significant role in reaching that target.

'It's fantastic,' said Sharon Pannell, 33, of Parker Close, Gosport. 'I can't believe it raised that much.

'We've ended up with £1267.50 now. It's amazing.'

Alicia's dad Lee, 37, took part in the walk with 13 others.

He said: 'It was a long way but was worth every bit of pain for my beautiful daughter. I'm so touched by the amount that was raised. We are now heading towards the target for the bath.'

The walk involved a group of fund-raisers trekking 15 miles from Havant to Gosport.

Liz Creed, 35, of Eversley Crescent in Leigh Park, arranged the event after reading Alicia's story in The News.

She was so compelled to help that she immediately got to work arranging the event.

Within days she had roped in members of her own family, members of Alicia's, and various others wanting to help. She said: 'I can't believe how much was raised in the end. It was definitely worth it, even though it did take several hours and we got soaking wet. I'm just so glad we could help Alicia. She is such a wonderful little girl.'

The money raised from the walk now means the Pannells are well under way with their fund-raising, but they still need News readers help.