A BURLEY-in-Wharfedale mother has used the internet to help her access a revolutionary procedure to safeguard the future of her children.

Pam Leach read about a Bradford scheme to store stem cells of new-born babies when she was eight months pregnant and she registered via the

internet. The cells can be used to treat serious illness later in life.

Mrs Leach and her husband Rob, of Fenton Street, decided it was worth a £600 fee from

Cryo-Care, which is pioneering the service in this country, to have peace of mind for their children.

So when little Helena Leach was born by Caesarean section at Airedale General Hospital, near Keighley, a small specimen of blood was taken from her umbilical cord by the midwife and she became one of the first people in the country to take part in the scheme.

"I spoke to the hospital who were willing to do it and I paid to get a kit which looks like a lunch box with sterile

equipment," said Mrs Leach.

"When she was born, the sample was handed to my

husband who took it home, put it in a box and contacted DHL who picked it up and took it to Brussels to be stored."

The cells are frozen and can be grown into replacement organs, blood or bone which would offer a perfect match if the child developed conditions from leukaemia to Parkinson's Disease.

The couple's other two children Fay, five, and Adam, three, will also have a one in four chance of a match with their sister's stem cells should they become ill.

"It is a unique opportunity and the cost is no more than three years car insurance," said Mrs Leach, a former science teacher.

"If one day it can help her or our other children it will be money well spent.You don't see

anything for the money but it's peace of mind and there are no side effects. It's a harmless procedure and can be a life saver - not just for a few years but maybe until she's in her 30s, 40s or 50s."

Mrs Leach's sister, who lives in Leicester, has just had a baby and also paid for the procedure which it is hoped will soon be an option to all new parents.

"It is very early days but hopefully it will be proved so beneficial it will snowball and the NHS will take it on board," said Mrs Leach.

A consultant at Bradford Royal Infirmary hoped to start trials of the procedure earlier this year but plans have been put on hold while trust members decide whether the scheme is suitable.

A spokesman for Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust said: "The trust is still actively assessing the possibility of staging trials but no decision has been reached."

Dr Paul Godwin, medical director of Airedale NHS Trust, said there were no

immediate plans to trial the procedure in the hospital.