A MUM is appealing for locals to help her daughter recover from major surgery so she can pursue her passion for dancing.

Lucy Garner's four-year-old daughter, Milla, had an operation on Thursday to reduce the stiffness in her leg muscles, which was caused by cerebral palsy.

Mrs Garner, from Northwick, near Worcester, said Milla now needs to undergo physiotherapy sessions to strengthen the muscles.

The 44-year-old added: "The operation should take away the spasticity. It will leave her with weakness in the muscles that are left.

"Doing nothing after surgery wouldn't help her at all - and she could be worse off than she was. It's important to continue rehabilitation to get the best possible results.

"The NHS provide some physio sessions for us, but only one or two a week. They are advising four sessions a week for a number of months. The more the better I think."

Mrs Garner added that she also wants to buy physiotherapy equipment for her home.

The mother hopes that her daughter will one day be able to take part in dance lessons and other activities.

She said: "She's a typical four-year-old and loves to entertain, singing and dancing. She would love to do ballet.

"But she struggles to balance and that's a big part of dance. The stiffness really restricts her.

"She struggles with things like jumping, dancing, skipping and walking upstairs.

"We are hoping with this surgery she will be able to do things she really wants to do but is frustrated by at the moment."

Milla, a pupil at Northwick Manor Primary School, was in the high dependency unit at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children on Friday, recovering from her operation.

The selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) surgery was the same operation that Worcester's Georgie Gibbs underwent in 2016, which enabled her to walk unaided.

A campaign raised more than £30,000 to help pay for intense physiotherapy for Georgie.

Milla's parents, Lucy and Stephen, have now set up a Just Giving online page for their daughter, which has already received more than £750 in donations.

They are aiming to raise a total of £15,000.

Anyone who wants to donate can go on www.justgiving.com/campaign/millaschancetodance