Elsie-Rose has her wheels and now she’s raring to go.

The brave little girl, who has an incurable condition, was not expected to live beyond a year but, as she approaches her second birthday, Elsie-Rose has defied medical experts and amazed her proud parents James and Natasha Nugent.

To improve her quality of life, the couple had been raising money for a specially-adapted wheelchair to increase her mobility and independence.

They had to find a staggering £26,000 to buy the power chair, which has to be hand-made to suit individual requirements.

KentOnline's sister paper the Medway Messenger backed Mr and Mrs Nugent’s fundraising campaign after Elsie-Rose touched the hearts of our readers but the big push to reach the target came when the Royal British Legion stepped in.

Mr Nugent, a serving soldier, approached the RBL for help and it sourced the cash which was pledged by four charities.

"It has already massively improved her quality of life. She is driving around all over the house" - James Nugent

Elsie-Rose’s chair has now been ordered but will not be ready until February.

Meanwhile, RBL staff have found her one on loan so she can get in some training and whizz round the family home in Brompton to her heart’s content.

Sandra Fruish, RBL regional representative, said: “We first became aware of Elsie-Rose’s condition, and her need for a special Snapdragon mobility chair, when her father, James, called our contact centre to see if we could help.

“One of our case officers visited the family to assess what we could do, and we were delighted to confirm we could provide the mobility chair which will vastly improve Elsie-Rose’s quality of life.

“Helping the Nugent family in this way is just one example of the many ways in which we help serving armed forces personnel and their families.”

A RBL representative presented the chair to Elsie-Rose at the Demelza children’s hospice in Bobbing, near Sittingbourne on Thursday.

Mr Nugent, 25, said: “It has already massively improved her quality of life. She is driving around all over the house.

“She is a bright little girl and we have been told she will be getting around on her own in six weeks.”

Elsie-Rose, who has a four-year-old sister Evie-Rose, recently spent a few days in hospital with a chest infection. Mr Nugent said: “Because of the time of year, we have tried to keep her in as much as possible but we can’t wrap her up in cotton wool. Life has to go on.”

Elsie-Rose has terminal spinal muscular atrophy, which severely limits mobility and causes breathing problems.

It affects just one in 10,000 babies and in some cases sufferers can only move their eyebrows. She is under care of the specialist Evelina children’s hospital in London.

Mrs Nugent, 26, said: “Every time we go back they are amazed at the progress she continues to make.”