CONTRBUTIONS are coming in thick and fast to the Daily Echo's Walking for Sophie appeal to make life easier for the four-year-old amputee.

The Echo's postbag has been bulging with donations this week bringing the total to just over £1,800. But to buy little Sophie Sivess from Ferndown a prosthesis that looks and feels like a real leg we need to raise around £2,500.

Sophie had to have one foot and the toes on the other foot amputated after blood poisoning infected her body while she was suffering from chickenpox.

Her family have described the standard NHS prosthesis as "like a wooden leg" and say it would give her a tremendous boost to have a more real-looking leg.

The months Sophie spent recovering in hospital took their financial toll on the family and her father Darren had to virtually give up work to care for the family. They've since amassed thousands of pounds of debt and are unable to afford all the equipment she needs.

And they're thrilled with the response to the Echo appeal so far.

Sophie faces further surgery into adulthood and as her body continues to grow she'll need new prostheses.

The receptionist at her doctors' surgery, Sandra Gleeson, and her friend Glyn Foulger plan to walk 26 miles to raise money and have launched an appeal, Walking for Sophie.

To help send cheques payable to Walking for Sophie to: Daily Echo, Mill Court, Mill Lane, Wimborne, BH21 1JQ.

First published: September 16