A dad has spoken of his joy at seeing his daughter with cerebral palsy walk for the first time.

Charlotte Taylor, two, has limited use of her arms and legs so can’t sit, crawl or walk.

She developed cerebral palsy after suffering a bleed from the brain after being born eight weeks prematurely with her twin Daniel.

Dad Cameron, 41, of Cornwell Close, Wilmslow, said he and wife Julie were told Charlotte will never walk.

But now, thanks to a special ‘Upsee’ harness designed to help children walk with the help of an adult, Charlotte has been able to take her first steps.

Cameron said: “Charlotte lights up when she uses the Upsee, she looks so happy even at the mention of the word.

“It’s amazing seeing her walking around and playing with her brother, who loves seeing his sister walking.

“Charlotte is a bubbly character who loves life, she love to explore and the harness has given her a whole new world. It’s changed her life and our focus for the future.”

Charlotte and her twin brother Daniel were born in December 2011 following four IVF attempts.

The twins – who weighed 4lbs 7oz and 4lb 3oz at birth respectively – were in intensive care at Wythenshawe Hospital when scans revealed Charlotte had suffered a Periventricular leukomalacia, which damages brain tissue and can affect motor movements.

And when Cameron and Julie eventually took her home, she was not able to feed properly and would scream in pain.

She went back to Wythenshawe Hospital before being transferred to Macclesfield Hospital and then Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where a change in her food finally helped her grow stronger.

Cameron said: “The staff at Macclesfield were amazing. Charlotte gets very frustrated, particularly now she can see Daniel doing things she can’t.But cognitively she’s fine and she’s getting stronger all the time. To look at Charlotte you wouldn’t think that she’s disabled, she’s amazing.”

Charlotte is one of the first children in the world to trial the Upsee, which was invented by Israeli mother Debby Elnatan who wanted to help her son with cerebral palsy to walk.

It was designed by Northern Ireland company Leckey, and has specially-engineered sandals that attach to an adult’s belt to allow the child and parent to step simultaneously.