NEARLY £10,000 has been raised to help Charlotte Wakeham, the seven-year-old schoolgirl who has an inoperable brain tumour.

People have been holding numerous events to raise money for the charity set up in Charlotte's name, the Charlotte's Chance of Life Fund.

The appeal has been boosted this week with a donation of £3,000 from the GWR's open day at Wootton Bassett on Saturday.

Other donations include £313 from children at St Barnabas Pre-School in Market Lavington who were sponsored to dress in their pyjamas.

Rowde singer Victoria Morris, 17, and friends, Gail Niven, 19, and Lianne Jones, 14, from Devizes, have raised £460 from a concert at the Wyvern Club. They organised a raffle with 29 prizes. A cake was donated by Greggs, the Devizes' bakers, which was auctioned and fetched £15.

Charlotte's grandmother, Wendy Bryant of Victoria Road, Devizes, who set up the charity, is spearheading a campaign to fund her drug treatment and send her on holiday to Disneyworld in Orlando.

Charlotte, who lives with her parents, Alison and Bill, and brother, Leigh, in Trowbridge, is having daily radiotherapy as well as being treated with a drug called Chlorimipramine at Bristol Children's Hospital.

Ms Bryant said: "Charlotte is able to walk a bit and she can see a lot better. Before she couldn't see pictures in a book properly. The radiotherapy and drug treatment ends in August and we hope she will be well enough to go on holiday.''

To make a donation send a cheque made payable to Charlotte's Chance of Life Fund to Jill Crooks at the Gazette, 14 Market Place, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1HT or contact Ms Bryant on (01380) 727130.