A VILLAGE pub is rallying support for a charity night in an attempt to save the lives of a fatally ill brother and sister.Visitors to the Sorrel Horse, Barham, will be wined and dined at a charity summer ball later this month.

A VILLAGE pub is rallying support for a charity night in an attempt to save the lives of a fatally ill brother and sister.

Visitors to the Sorrel Horse, Barham, will be wined and dined at a charity summer ball later this month.

The event aims to raise cash for Jordan and Jasmine Harris - two children whose stories have touched the lives of dozens of villagers.

Jordan, 5, and Jasmine, 2, have a rare and fatal genetic disorder called late infantile Battens but have been handed a lifeline by a university in New York doing new research.

The pub has pledged to help send the pair to the university for the first human gene therapy trial - a sign of hope for the family.

Tina Harris, the children's mother, said: "When Jordan was diagnosed the doctor told my husband Mark and me to go home and make the most of the time we had left with him but we couldn't just sit back and watch our child die.

"It felt like our whole world was falling apart and when we read about the work in America it gave us a glimmer of hope."

The Barham ball is a black tie event from 7pm on Saturday, June 26. It will include live music, a disco and dinner and charity auction, with a week holiday in the Caribbean among the lots to bid for.

Organiser John Eley said: "We are so moved by their story. It's enough to make grown men cry.

"With the ball we feel we can help the family directly and give hope to children we have been touched by."

Jordan is now fully dependent on his parents and carers, unable to walk and talk and is fed through a tube. Jasmine is yet to show any symptoms.

Mrs Harris added: "Nothing prepares you for hearing your children have an incurable disease but we had to stop saying 'why us, it's not fair' for their sake."

The family lives in south London and needs £120,000 per child to even be considered for the trial. They have raised more than £100,000 to date.

Tickets for the summer ball cost £40 and are available from the Sorrel Horse on 01473 830327 or John on 01473 830497. Anyone who can donate items for the auction is also asked to call John.