THE sound of carols has brought joy to a 12-year-old girl who can hear for the first time this Christmas.

Josie Caven was born profoundly deaf and, since the age of two, has worn hearing aids that allowed her to distinguish a few sounds.

Ear implants have now brought the music of the festive season flooding into Josie's life.

She shouted in surprise when she realised she was listening to Jingle Bells on the radio for the first time.

Josie, of Birstwith, near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said: "It is so nice to hear music, especially Christmas carols.

"I think they sound lovely and I ask my friends to stop and listen when we hear them in town.

"Now that I can hear, I feel so much happier and more confident. It has changed everything for me. This is going to be my best Christmas and I have asked Mum and Dad for an iPod so I can listen to the Black Eyed Peas and McFly."

Josie, who lives with her parents, Teresa, 37, and Richard, 43, sister Olivia, ten, and brother Anthony, four, suffers from wide vestibular aqueduct syndrome, which Olivia also suffers from.

Mrs Caven said: "The implants have made such a dramatic change to Josie's life, I have never seen her so happy."