A SICK toddler is flying to the United States for vital treatment - largely thanks to generous readers of The Clarion's sister paper, The Northern Echo.

Sophia Carter suffers continuous, round-the-clock, unexplained epileptic seizures.

Michigan-based Dr Harry Chugani, a leading specialist in epilepsy, says he might be able to help the two-and-half-year-old who can neither walk, talk, stand nor sit.

Parents Alison and Jon from New Marske will take Sophia to the States for tests on December 6 and 7, with more brain scans on December 10. For one of the tests the toddler will be injected with radioactive sugar.

The child's date in America means the family will have to fly out to the States on December 4, flying back ten days later at the earliest. The trip will cost about £7,000, but they already have about £6,000.

Most of the money has been collected in less than three weeks. Mrs Carter said: "We have had more response from the article in The Northern Echo than from anywhere. It has been overwhelming; people are just fantastic."

They found more than £210 in coins and notes on their doorstep, an anonymous donation and the result of a collection.

Looking ahead to the trip to America, Mrs Carter said: "Our hope is that they find the focal point in the brain where this is originating.

"If she is eligible for surgery we will have to raise another £57,700 for the operation and of course the expenses of travelling back out there and the stay."

The little girl has already undergone lumber punctures, blood and urine checks, skin biopsies and steroid injections in Britain in a bid to find the cause of her illness. Her parents say a baffled British medical profession has given up on her daughter and America offers their last chance.

An appeal has been set up - Epilepsy Outlook - and donations can be sent to 72 Sandmoor Road, New Marske, near Redcar, TS11 8DJ.

Mrs Carter said money left over following Sophia's treatment will be spent on helping other children in similar situations.