A COCKERTON toy shop hopes to have brought at touch of Christmas magic into the life of a little girl battling against a malignant tumour.

Christine and Barrie Lamb, who run the business, received a call on Monday from a Lincolnshire woman desperate to find a special doll's baby walker.

She had been trawling web-sites throughout the country without success.

"On our website the item was actually marked out of stock, but in fact one had been put aside in our office," said Mr Lamb. "When Chris told the woman we had it, she just burst into tears. Apparently it had been her little girl's one Christmas wish. She hadn't asked for anything else.

"We packed it up and sent it off immediately and it should have been there by Wednesday."

The couple were further touched to receive an e-mail from the mother apologising for crying and explaining she had hunted high and low for that particular present.

She said her daughter had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, had gone through an eight hour operation and endured a long spell of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Her dolls had brought her a lot of comfort during the ordeal.

"She has been so brave and is always smiling. It seems such a small wish and it will be so nice to see her face on Christmas day."

Mr Lamb said: "What we did was very little, but we have all felt very upset for her. It just shows there is more than one side of Christmas for some children."