A SPONSORED walk raised funds towards realising a little girl’s dream to run and play with her friends.

Armed with collection buckets, the group walked from the Palace Pier in Brighton to Worthing Pier in aid of SDR for Darcey.

The campaign is working to raise £50,000 so that Darcey Stride, six, from Shoreham Beach, can have a life-changing operation.

The youngster has cerebral palsy and cannot get around without the help of sticks or a walking frame.

The condition affects her muscles and as she grows her mobility will get worse.

The surgery, called Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR), will reduce the tightness of the muscles in her legs and make it easier for her to move around.

However it is not routinely available on the NHS so her parents Chantal and Ben are having to raise funds to cover the cost of the operation and her physiotherapy treatment afterwards.

More than £10,000 has already been raised since the campaign was launched two months ago.

The next event is a concert at the Ropetackle Centre in Shoreham on September 27 from 3pm, with a line-up including Laura Ward and the Risen Road, Stuart Reed, Fiery Clockface and guitarist Richard Durrant.

For tickets, visit www.ropetacklecentre.co.uk/folk-for-darcey.

To support Darcey’s appeal, visit www.gofundme.com/SDRforDarcey or email ben.chantal@btinternet.com.