AN appeal set up to help a young burns victim who died before she could have life saving surgery is to continue to help others.

Kind-hearted Teessiders raised £8,000 to bring seven-year-old Romanian Mariana Nechitescu to Britain where plastic surgeon Charles Viva was to operate on her free of charge.

Half the money was spent on medicines keeping the child alive in her home country.

But the youngster, who suffered 85 per cent burns when petrol was poured over her, died of from an infection before she could leave Romania.

Rod Jones, founder of the charity Convoy Aid, which was going to bring the child to Britain for surgery, said the money left in the appeal will be spent on helping more than 800 sick children in the hospital, where Mariana died.

Mr Jones said there were no medicines at the hospital.

"The tragedy is there is a shortage of money for the health service in Romania. Parents are given prescriptions by the doctors and told to get their prescriptions made up at a pharmacy and take them back to the hospital.

"But most of the parents are on low income and have not got the money.

"I have seen mothers turn to prostitution to raise the money they need to buy the medicine.

"Mothers are begging in the street, showing you the prescriptions,'' said Mr Jones. "When we were going to Mariana it was a nightmare.

"You were running a gauntlet, going down the passageways, mothers dragging you into rooms saying that they did not have money for the medication.''

He said: "The Mariana Appeal will carry on for that purpose, and so in that way, she did not die for nothing. I would like people to know where the money is going.''

Mr Jones said money was still coming into the charity from sponsored events organising to boost the appeal.

Mariana was sent to her aunt's home, in Romania, for two days after the hospital's heating system broke down.

She died of an infection two days after her return to hospital.