A YOUNG girl with a unique illness is today enjoying more freedom thanks to an off-road buggy.Kate Whiting, from Rushmere, suffers from a chromosome disorder that is not believed to affect anyone else in the UK and possibly the world.

A YOUNG girl with a unique illness is today enjoying more freedom thanks to an off-road buggy.

Kate Whiting, from Rushmere, suffers from a chromosome disorder that is not believed to affect anyone else in the UK and possibly the world.

The condition, which is so rare it does not have a name, prevents the six-year-old from walking very far and gives her speech difficulties.

But now the Thomas Wolsey School pupil can enjoy trips to the country with her family courtesy of a new all-terrain three-wheel pushchair.

Her mother, Joanna, of Bixley Drive, said: “It is fantastic. We will be able to go places like the forest where we couldn't go before.

“Kate loves it. She has taken to it straightaway and it is much more comfortable for her.”

Funds for the buggy, which cost £500, came from Suffolk charity Disability Care Enterprise (DCE) and the Ipswich Greyfriars Round Table.

DCE was able to provide the money after it was given £16,000 from a charity ball organised by Ipswich-based firm Just Recruitment for various projects in the region.

Jenny Wrightson, of Just Recruitment, said: “We designated DCE as our charity for this year because it is local and deals with children.

“The money will be used sensibly to bring as much benefit to as many people as possible.”

The groups were alerted to Kate's cause by her occupational therapist at Thomas Wolsey, who wrote to several organisations in search of funding because she felt a new buggy would improve her quality of life.

Mrs Whiting said: “The school's participation has been wonderful.”

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