A WIRRAL schoolgirl with a muscle-wasting condition has been given a new lease of life thanks to a battery-powered tricycle, paid for by a charitable Foundation.

Eve Bennett has muscular dystrophy which prevents her from running.

The eight-year-old, from Heswall, attends Barnston Primary School but outgrew her previous trike so her family approached the Steve Morgan Foundation for help.

The condition restricts her mobility and prevents Eve running, hopping or jumping and she can't negotiate stairs or steps without a handrail.

It also means Eve can’t take part in activities with her friends and is unable to keep up with them walking to school.

While her condition is degenerative her parents Lucy and Rob have been determined for their daughter to maximise her potential and maintain her muscle strength through regular exercise.

With this in mind her occupational therapist recommended she start using a Tomcat trike and a battery power pack known as 'Bionic Buddy', which kicks in when Eve starts to tire.

Eve's parents couldn't afford the £4,500 so the Steve Morgan Foundation stepped in to pay the first £4,000 as part of their Enable Fund.

She took delivery of it a month ago and mum Lucy said she loves it.

Eve's mum Lucy, an NHS therapist, recalled her daughter's shock diagnosis when she was just three.

She said: "She had a wobbly gait and was unsteady on her feet.

"It was picked up during a review by the nursery nurse. It was a real bolt out the blue."

Tests revealed Eve had limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2I, which causes weakness and wasting of the muscles in the arms and legs.

"Eve's personality is just to get on with things," she said.

"She's happy and lively, although she does get tired.

"She can't play tag with her friends because she can't run and I have to help her get up. It's a day-to-day thing.

"We had a trike from another charity but she'd outgrown it and we had to push her a lot of the time."

Eve loves her new trike.

Mum Lucy added: "The new battery-powered trike means we can cycle as a family and stay out for longer.

"It has given Eve more independence and means she can go to her gran's house.

"We're very grateful to the Steve Morgan Foundation.

"This will last her into adulthood."

The Steve Morgan Foundation's Enable Fund supports people of all ages in financial hardship, who are in need of specialised equipment, including mobility aids, wheelchairs, buggies, wheelchairs and trikes.