A UNIQUE charity to support siblings of severely sick or disabled children has bought its first caravan to give families a holiday retreat.

Laura Rolph-Wills, of Grafton Road, Dovercourt, launched Sponsor a Sibling in 2016.

Her youngest son Harry, aged eight, suffers from a rare form of Batten disease, which is found in just one or two children in the UK each year.

His illness has resulted in a gradual loss of sight, mobility and speech - he now has to be fed through a tube.

But while there has been a lot of help for Harry, Laura realised her eldest son Joshua, 11, was indirectly affected and wanted to help children like him.

Sponsor a Sibling has been raising funds for a specially adapted caravan to allow families with ill children to enjoy a holiday together.

The aim is to support siblings who might take on extra responsibilities and miss out on trips and treats due to the health of their brother or sister.

Now the charity has bought its first caravan at Highfield Grange Caravan park in Clacton.

Laura said: “We are entering 2018 with our first sponsor a sibling caravan.

“We still have lots of fundraising to do.

“We have an outstanding balance of £15,000 to pay off, however, we can start providing holidays to our wonderful siblings and their families.

“It is a work in progress, ideally we would love to add a 32 ins plus TV, vacuum and items to make it homely.

“The caravan consists of a double bedroom, single bedroom and pull out sofa bed.

“We are hoping in the future to be able to add bunk beds to the single bedroom - the cost of the specialist caravan bunks are £250 so we are unable to do this straight away.

“We will be giving lots of families wonderful breaks, whether it be one night or seven, it can commence any day of the week unlike the typical holidays available and can also be booked last minute.

“The only condition of having a free holiday in our caravan is that it must be occupied by siblings of children with life limiting and life threatening conditions and also bereaved siblings and their families.

“The holidays will be free of charge, however, a deposit will be payable and it would be hugely appreciated if this could be pledged as a donation towards the running costs.”

The caravan is expected to cost £10,000 a year to run and families not meeting the criteria may be able to pay to rent it with all funds going towards maintenance and upkeep.

Laura added: “For now a huge thank you to the wonderful people that have sponsored and donated and our supporters through out the year.”