A WILTSHIRE family whose daughter is lucky to be alive after being born three months early are planning to give back to the Stepping Stones district specialist children's centre in Trowbridge.

Vicky and Scott Daly have pledged to raise £350 by walking 40,000 steps to help Stepping Stones to give its garden a complete makeover.

Their daughter Layla weighed just 1lb 9oz when she was born prematurely at 26 weeks on July 28 2018 at St Michael's Hospital in Bristol.

The couple were told that Layla wouldn’t survive due to liver problems – but they rejected a late abortion after Vicky's waters spontaneously broke at 22 weeks.

Layla was born four weeks later by emergency C-section but was forced to undergo surgery to repair her bowels and a hole in her heart.

With underdeveloped lungs, Layla endured 11 blood transfusions. She pulled through only to contract sepsis, forcing her to stay in hospital for 115 days and finally came home for Christmas.

Vicky, 29, said: "Layla had a lot of complications when she was little and she is behind in her mental and physical development.

"Layla has global development delay and mobility issues as well as being on the autistic spectrum.

"We are anticipating that she is going to need special needs education when she gets older."

Layla, two, now goes to Stepping Stones two days a week for two and a half hours on Monday and Tuesday.

The Daly family, of Chestnut Mews, Melksham, are hoping to raise £350 towards the Stepping Stones £40,000 fundraising appeal for its garden makeover.

Mrs Daly said: “We are hoping to raise £350 towards a new garden at her nursery, it is in desperate need of updating."

Earlier this month, the family pledged to walk a whopping 40,000 steps to help the Stepping Stones appeal.

“It only seemed right that we help them with that target,” said Mrs Daly, who suffers from lupus, an autoimmune condition affecting tissues and organs.

She and Scott took Layla to the Paultons theme park in Romsey, home of Peppa Pig World, with their pet Shorkie dog, Nala.

Mr Daly, 30, later took Layla and Nala for a walk up to the White Horse in Devizes.

In the event, the family have nearly doubled their target, walking 74,367 steps over the 48-hour period.

Mrs Daly added: “I am very pleased to say we reached our step target of 40,000 steps, and very nearly doubled it.

"I'd like to give a big thank you to all the people who have supported us so far. Ideally, I'd like to raise £500 for the Stepping Stones appeal."

The family have so far raised £250 towards their fundraising target and money is still pouring in.

“Let’s see if we can now double our donations. Please help us raise vital funds for Stepping Stones,” Mrs Daly said.

To donate, go to https://uk.gofundme.com/f/stepping-stones-garden-fundraiser