A charity launched by a Northumberland couple to help cure their daughter’s blindness has reached the halfway mark thanks to a kind stranger.

Elly and James Chapple were stunned when 82-year-old Robert Robinson, of Newcastle, turned up on their doorstep in Hipsburn, Alnmouth.

He had driven from Newcastle with a donation of £1,000 after seeing three-year-old Ella’s story.

The little girl was born with no irises, a condition called aniridia, and was featured in The Journal earlier this year.

“He saw that we lived in Hipsburn and just decided to drive here and ask the locals where the Chapples lived,” said Elly. “When he said he wanted to make a donation, I thought it would be about £10 or something, but when he wrote a cheque for £1,000 I nearly died! He said that he wished Ella would have her cure and that he would live to see it happen. It absolutely restored my faith in human nature. We were so moved and very touched by his kindness.”

James, 35, and Elly, 34, who also have a six-month-old son Reuben, have raised almost £11,000 to fund research into aniridia.

In Ella’s case, her aniridia results from a rare chromosome disorder called WAGR syndrome that affects one in 800,000 babies. Suffers are more prone to kidney cancer and can sometimes have genito-urinary problems and mental retardation.

Ella has endured nine months of precautionary chemotherapy after being diagnosed with nephroblastoma last year, a precursor to Wilms’ Tumour of the kidneys. She was given the all-clear last December.

Although Ella is likely to have more health problems and gets frustrated because she can’t communicate, her mum says she’s a happy child and “just gets on with it.”

The family has been overwhelmed by the support they’ve received, including £1,523 raised by North East firm Thompson Opticians and donations from Howdens Joinery and St Michael and All Angels Church in Felton. James' stepmother has also donated £500 in remembrance of his late father who was hugely supportive of their campaign.

And this week Elly’s brother Ben Richardson, a martial arts instructor, plans to scale 24 peaks in 24 hours across the Lake District to raise more funds.

“It’s usually done in teams of five over two days,” said Elly. “But he’s doing it in a team of two over 24 hours. He’ll be navigating at night with no sleep.”

To make donations visit www.cureaniridia.co.uk or send to Fairy Queen HQ, The Old Forge, Hipsburn Farm, Alnmouth, NE66 3PY.

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