TWO daughters inspired by a television soap opera storyline have set themselves a fundraising mission to buy a camera that will help their blind mother recognise when they are near.

After finding out about the OrCam MyEye, Rebecca and Rachel Sample were watching Emmerdale when they saw a crowdfunding storyline that prompted them to do the same for their mother, Diane.

Mrs Sample, 34, of Chilton, has been left completely blind after an aggressive onset of Type 1 diabetes she was diagnosed with as a child.

She also has renal failure and travels to hospital three times a week for four-hour-long dialysis sessions.

“The camera would change everything," she said. "Not being able to see upsets me so much, I can’t see my little girls.

“I feel like I’m lucky because I saw them up until four years ago, but I know they’re changing all the time.

“I used to be able to see shadows but I can’t see anything now.”

The camera, which clips onto glasses and includes an earpiece, uses face recognition technology and would enable Mrs Sample to recognise who was around her.

The device would also enable her to read books and letters and her daughters’ schoolwork.

June Robson, Mrs Sample’s mother, said: “It would just be brilliant to have the camera, Diane would be able to go shopping and point at an item and the camera would tell her what it was.

“She would be able to read the girls’ homework and her post. They’re little things but they would make all the difference.”

Since setting up the crowdfunding page online, Rebecca and Rachel have raised £860.

Rebecca, 14, said: “We were watching Emmerdale and they were raising money on there and I thought that we could do that for our mam.

“I was worried nobody would donate but everyone has been really supportive. We can’t believe how much money people have donated already."

Rachel, 11, added: “We would love our mam to be able to see us again and we really hope we raise enough to buy the camera for her.”