A little girl has cheered on a caring neighbour in the final push of a challenge to help give her a life-changing operation.

Charlotte Taylor, three, developed quadriplegic cerebral palsy after being born eight weeks prematurely with her twin brother Daniel. She has stiffness in her arms and legs so cannot crawl, sit or walk. She has physiotherapy to strengthen her muscles and uses special equipment to help her day-to-day.

It’s been tough for parents Cameron and Julie, of Cornwell Close, Wilmslow, as Charlotte is seeing her brother Daniel do things she can’t do. She loves to dance and wants to be able to dance with her brother.

But it’s hoped an operation called selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) at a hospital in St Louis, Missouri, in the States, could help Charlotte walk - and finally dance with her brother.

The family is raising £80,000 for the procedure, which would involve cutting nerves in her back to control the stiffness in her limbs.

Their neighbour Geoff Stubbs, 58, volunteered to do a 5,000 length swim challenge at Total Fitness in Handforth to raise money. He’s completed around 230 lengths every weekend over 22 weeks, raising more than £1,300 so far. Charlotte joined her family at the pool at the weekend to cheer Geoff on as he completed the challenge.

Geoff said: “I wanted to get back into swimming as a New Year’s resolution, so thought this would be the ideal opportunity for do something to help.

“Charlotte is adorable and and it would be fantastic if she can one day take steps herself and dance and play with her brother.”

Friends and family have been backing the campaign which has raised more than £10,000.

Dad Cameron, 42, a self employed engineer, said: “It’s massive what Geoff is doing for Charlotte.

“Charlotte is such a happy little girl and loves to dance. She dances in her own way but doesn’t have enough strength in her legs.

“We were told we would lose Charlotte and she wouldn’t learn anything, but she’s talking and goes to pre-school. She’s defying all the odds and we hope one day she can dance and play with her brother.”

Go to justgiving.com/Swimming4Charlotte to sponsor Geoff and treeofhope.org.uk/charlotte-loves-to-dance.

The Express featured a video of Charlotte when she used a special device called an Upsee to take steps with her dad.