A LITTLE girl suffering from a chronic eating disorder at the age of four has made progress along her long road to recovery.

Mother Lisa Jones feared she might never witness the sight of daughter Annie tucking into a meal.

But now the youngster, who suffers from infantile anorexia and has barely eaten since birth, is beginning to enjoy food after undergoing special treatment for her disorder.

The painfully thin girl vomitted what little food she could bring herself to eat and had to be fed through a tube into her stomach.

Her anxious family watched helplessly as she struggled to reach just two stones in weight.

But in the past month there has been a remarkable turnaround in Annie's health - all because of Heinz spaghetti and sausages.

The effect has been dramatic - in the past four weeks the little girl has gained 11lbs in weight.

Lisa had feared that Annie would have to travel to the US for treatment, but experts at the University Hospital of North Tees offered the Middlesbrough youngster a specialist feeding course after every other form of therapy failed.

Lisa, 31, said: "She is doing really well. She is not cured but she has improved so much.

"Not many parents would be delighted to see their children eating the same thing day after day but to me it is fantastic."

Lisa still plans to take her daughter for a week-long trip to the US on Sunday, and she will undergo an initial assessment on Tuesday. But further trips to a Baltimore clinic are on hold while the treatment closer to home continues.