A schoolgirl today embarked on a pioneering course of treatment which could see her walk for the first time.

Eight-year-old Shanice Ward has cerebral palsy and is reliant on a frame and a wheelchair to get about.

But it is hoped a month of treatment at a physiotherapy centre in Bedfordshire will enable her to live an independent life.

Her family and friends have raised the £4,000 cost of the treatment at the Cerebral Palsy Physiotherapy Centre and the cost of travelling.

It was Mandy McArdle, the daughter of Shanice's legal guardian Mary McArdle, 65, of Frimley Drive, Little Horton, who found out about the centre on the Internet.

Miss McArdle, 35, also of Frimley Drive, said: "Shanice has not missed out on anything in life, she has done everything a child would do but now she is getting bigger we can't lift her like we used to.

"We have been told at some point in the near future we will have to think about an electric wheelchair but it is her dream to walk without the frame and no-one has ruled that out.

"So we are helping her to achieve her dream by getting her muscles in the best possible condition."

The centre has helped many youngsters with cerebral palsy take their first steps by using techniques developed in Poland.

It is the first of its kind to open in the UK and was founded by Sally Aspinall, whose daughter Lucy has cerebral palsy. Mrs Aspinall spent years researching different forms of therapy and has combined the best of what she found and brought it all together with a dedicated team of therapists.

It involves a range of therapies, including the use of a Therasuit, a device used in the Russian cosmonaut programme to counteract the effect the conditions of space have on muscle tone.

"We went for a free assessment earlier this year to make sure she was suitable and they said she was in a good condition," said Miss McArdle, who has two daughters Gracie, four, and Francine, 14 months, and lives with her partner Steve Dalton, 37.

The family will have to wait a month for the outcome of the treatment, when Shanice - a pupil at St John's Primary School in Beacon Road - will be assessed to see if she needs further treatment.

If this is the case the family say they will start a fundraising drive to pay for it. To find out more about the centre visit www.cppcltd. co.uk e-mail: claire.lomax@bradford.newsquest.co.uk