Charity helps schoolgirl see Santa Claus in Lapland

2:25pm Monday 17th December 2007

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A YOUNG girl who suffers from a degenerative muscle disease was taken on the trip of a lifetime to meet Father Christmas.

Schoolgirl Lauren Howorth, nine, travelled to Lapland on Tuesday as part of a trip organised by the charity When You Wish Upon A Star.

Joining Lauren and the other children on the trip were soap stars from Coronation Street.

As well as Sue Cleaver who plays Eileen Grimshaw and Kath Kelly who plays Becky, a magician boarded the plane with the kids in order to keep them entertained.

The national charity aims to grant the wishes of children suffering from a serious illness and Lauren, who has spinal muscular atrophy, was one of the lucky ones who flew to Lapland.

Lauren, a pupil at St Mary's primary school, Oswaldtwistle, jetted off for the snow covered province along with her mother Shirley Howorth, 40, who works at Express Gifts which has sites in Church, Clayton-le-Moors and Nelson.

Lauren's condition means she struggles to weight-bear and Shirley was full of praise for the opportunity her daughter had been given.

Shirley, of Peel Mount, Knuzden, said: "A friend of mine, Christine Britcliffe, applied on Lauren's behalf and they rang us up about three-weeks-ago and asked us whether we'd like to go.

"It was just unbelievable to be over there. I'd read about things like this before but the real thing is wonderful.

"When we got there we were taken to a forest and there were huskies, reindeer pulling sleighs and fires for the children to toast marsh-mallows on.

"Lauren is in a wheelchair but some of the sleighs had been adapted so the wheelchair could go in.

"She has four hospital appointments each year to monitor her condition and around three physiotherapy sessions a month, so to get her away from that and let her have an experience like this is something you can't put a price on."

The pair set left Manchester at 7am and returned close to midnight on Tuesday night.

"Lauren had a great time and all the children were able to meet Father Christmas.

"She was also given a purple folder which included a reindeer passport.

"This was something the charity thought of and means she can fly reindeer for the next five years.

"They really had thought of everything," added Shirley.