IT IS going to be a happy Easter for brave Kent girl Charlotte Whale.

Pub landlords Tom and Rob Dixon from The Albion, South Willesborough, Ashford, have pledged the remaining cash for the long-awaited operation which it is hoped will allow the 11-year-old from the village of Great Chart to walk for the first time.

Since the Kentish Express revealed Charlotte’s story last March, readers have been raising money towards the £15,000 needed for pioneering private stem-cell treatment in the Dominican Republic.

With customers’ support The Albion has raised about £6,000.

Tom Dixon collected another £700 during a sponsored cycle-ride to other pubs across the borough and now that, together with donations from Kentish Express readers inspired by her courage, means her mother Lori has been told to go ahead and book the operation.

Mrs Whale has received enough to cover the surgeon’s fees and now needs another £1,700 for flights and accommodation, which Mr Dixon has promised to provide.

That will be completed by a music night with popular band Fallen Angels playing free on April 13 in his pub function room.

Mrs Whale said: “This is a long-awaited dream come true for Charlotte. The end is in sight and everyone has been so generous and we cannot thank Tom Dixon and everyone else enough for making it possible.”

has no fears about the treatment. She said: “I want to walk and play with my friends without always having my mother or a carer with me. It is a dream that I can come back normal.”