A YOUNG girl suffering from leukaemia has just enjoyed a dream visit to Disneyland-Paris, thanks to businesses' fundraising.

A number of companies in the area came forward to help contribute to the trip after the children were too poorly to attend the main trip with other families last December.

Prestwood-based charity The Thomas Ball Children's Cancer Fund was determined to send three-and-a-half year old Kimberley Claassen, along with two other children who couldn't attend.

Maria Claassen, of Jerome Close, Marlow, said the trip, from July 30 until August 1, was like a dream come true for her daughter.

She said: "We had lunch with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, breakfast with Mickey Mouse and at the parade Aladdin came to say hello. Her little face was constantly lit up, she was smiling so much."

A family from Derbyshire made the trip earlier this year, while another family from Marlow plan to go in October. A number of businesses in the area helped the cause by donating money towards the £1,000 cost for every family sent to the resort.

Mrs Claassen, 31, said she and her husband, Johann, 32, were grateful to everyone who helped. She said: "It means so much to the kids and the parents. I think Kimberley benefited from it so much."

The charity was founded in 1999 by Thomas Ball, who died from cancer in 2003, aged 14, and is run by his parents, Elaine and Trevor Ball, of Sixty Acres Road, Prestwood.Another project run by the charity is Tom's Retreat'. It helps families with children suffering from cancer by giving them the chance to go on holiday, in Naish on England's south coast, free of charge.

Elaine Ball said: "It's fully booked with children with cancer and leukaemia until October. It has become an essential service - we're struggling to keep up with demand."

The charity has almost raised the £40,000 needed for a room where parents can stay with their children while they have chemotherapy at the Oxford Children's Hospital. Mrs Ball said: "We should have that all done and dusted by the end of this year."

Elaine Ball also helps to run the Dragonflies Bereavement Group, for parents who have lost a child, and is keen for more people to join the group. She said: "It's not just for people who have lost their children to cancer. I think people think it is, but it's for parents who have lost their children through any reason. And it's not just for parents who have lost young children, but people of all ages."

The next meeting of the group is on Monday, at Holy Trinity Church Cottage, Wycombe Road, Prestwood.

For more informat- ion on the charity, or to make a donation, go to www.thomas ball.org.uk