A father desperate to help his disabled daughter walk is trying to sell a kidney so he can send her to a specialist school.

Peter Randall has advertised his kidney on the auction web site eBay and is trying to raise £100,000 to send his six-year-old daughter Alice to Ingfield Manor School in Billingshurst.

Mr Randall, 49, from Sevenoaks in Kent, is advertising the organ with a reserve price of £50,000.

The advert can't be seen in the UK because selling organs is illegal here but it is on show in America and the Far East.

Alice was born prematurely and unable to move her limbs.

She has had some therapy, which gave her some movement in her arms and legs.

But Mr Randall and his wife Jennifer, 44, are desperate for her to get more treatment and have run out of money.

Mr Randall said: "Alice is a fighter. Now we have to fight for her. I can survive with one kidney. It is a small price to pay to see my little girl take her first steps."

Alice has been undergoing a therapy known as conductive education. The parents have spent £30,000 on the treatment, which they say has given their daughter hope of being able to walk.

The advert describes Mr Randall as a "non-smoking male who drinks only socially and who is in good health".

The kidney is available subject to "correct medical standards and compatibility", and would be posted to a buyer in the UK, Middle East, Asia, Europe or North America, according to the web site.

It costs £50,000 a year to get support and treatment at Ingfield Manor, an independent day and residential primary school for children with cerebral palsy and associated conditions.

Conductive education was pioneered by the Peto Institute in Hungary. It has achieved remarkable results with children around the world.

Children at the main school have average learning abilities although all their needs are complex because of their cerebral palsy.

Students have wide-ranging physical abilities, communication needs, specific learning difficulties, visual-perceptual problems, medical conditions such as epilepsy and special dietary needs.

The Department of Health (DoH) has warned Mr Randall he is breaking the law and faces prosecution.

Health minster Rosie Winterton said: "The trading of human organs for profit is illegal and it will stay that way. It will also remain illegal to advertise organs for sale.

"This Government will not allow the exploitation of vulnerable people and the buying and selling of human bodies or their parts in this way."

A spokeswoman for the DoH said auction site eBay could also be breaking the law but it would be up to police whether further action was taken.

Tony Manwaring, chief executive officer of the Scope charity, said: "We were appalled and shocked to hear that Peter Randall has been driven to such desperate lengths as putting his kidney up for auction so he can raise money to send his daughter to Ingfield Manor.

"We condemn the series of circumstances which have led to this situation occurring. Sadly, many parents of disabled children don't have the advice and support they desperately need.

"There are many options open to families with disabled children and we would welcome the opportunity to meet with the Randalls to further discuss all those still open to them.

"This could mean Alice continues to attend mainstream school with special treatment, which might be provided by the local authority or privately-funded."

The School for Parents, founded and supported by Ditchling-based Dame Vera Lynn, is also based at Ingfield Manor.

Parents attend the pre-school unit for under-fives with their children so they can learn alongside them and use the same techniques at home.

When the charity Scope withdrew its funding from the School for Parents, the Dame Vera Lynn Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy was set up to raise money to cover the school's running costs and keep it open.