A SMALL family in Beaconsfield has paid tribute to friends who helped raise money for their baby daughter to be treated for a brain tumour in America.

One-year-old Jessica Duggan, of Post Office Lane, was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour called a Craniopharyngioma in March, and has since undergone four major operations on her brain.

The condition affects the pituitary gland and is extremely rare for children so young. But Jessica has fought to regain her sight when it was thought to have been lost to the condition.

Friends and family turned out in force to an evening of entertainment at The Old Bengal restaurant in Beaconsfield recently, where £13,000 was raised for a stricken toddler through various auctions and raffles.

Jessica’s mother, Samantha Ward, 26, was delighted by the evening and said: “We are so grateful to our friends and family who have helped to organise and taken part in this wonderful evening. The generosity of everyone is amazing.

“We’d like to thank everyone at the restaurant for putting this event on and allowing the evening to take place”.

Samantha and partner Ben Duggan, 31, have set up the Jessica Rose Foundation to raise money for their daughter's treatment, which is not available in the UK.

Email benduggan@hotmail.com for more information.