AFTER months spent raising £40,000 to help a Caldicot tot walk, three-year-old Imogen Ashwell-Lewis has received notice of a very special date - the day she is due to undergo pioneering surgery which could help her walk independently.

Little Imogen is due to undergo the treatment on January 12 next year at Bristol Children's Hospital following the appeal, backed by the Free Press.

Catherine Ashwell-Rice, 37, had been waiting for the hospital to confirm a date of the operation for her daughter Imogen after raising the money needed.

And Ms Ashwell-Rice, of Lapwing Avenue, who set up a fundraising Facebook page and Justgiving site said: “I am over the moon to be given a date for her operation.”

“It's been a long journey to get this far and waiting for a date has been frustrating.”

She will undergo the radical surgery on a private ward at the hospital.

Imogen, who was born 11 weeks early, weighing 3lb 2oz, suffers from a debilitating nerve-muscle condition known as spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, which means she is unable to walk unaided and relies on a specially-made wheelchair.

The procedure, called selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is not available on the NHS and will help avoid further muscle deterioration.

It was developed by a surgeon at the St Louis Children’s Hospital, Missouri and involves removing bone from one vertebrae and making an incision in the spine to divide nerve roots that contribute to the spasticity, giving more balance and enabling the patient to walk.

Imogen will need to stay in hospital for two weeks following the operation and visit the hospital daily for therapy for a further two to three weeks after she is discharged.

She will need three physiotherapy sessions a week as well as therapy at home to improve her strength.

The £40,000 raised by the Help Imogen Walk Appeal, through The Tree of Hope charity, will cover the cost of the operation and the first few months of her rehabilitation and anything raised above this will be used towards her long-term rehabilitation which could be around two years.