Yeadon schoolgirl Eve McGuire is looking forward to swimming and staying with friends now that her life-changing operation is being planned for later this year.

Nine-year-old Eve, who has Treacher Collins Syndrome, is jumping for joy at the news that she could receive the date for her operation any day now.

Enough money has been raised to start planning the operation to remove the tracheostomy tube in her neck which lets her breathe.

At the moment there is a risk of infection and sometimes the tube gets blocked, so Eve needs to have someone around who can deal with any problems.

At school Eve has a special health worker to monitor the tracheostomy and if she stays with friends she needs her mum with her.

But more than anything Eve wants to be able to go swimming with her schoolmates at West End Primary in Horsforth, and after the operation, anything will be possible.

Eve and her family, from Westfield Oval, hope that the operation will take place this summer after fundraisers astounded them by raising more than £90,000 in just under a year.

Eve has featured in the Wharfedale and Airedale Observer because of the Treacher Collins Syndrome and the fundraising efforts to pay for the operation and other expenses - estimated at £100,000.

But now Eve's fund has topped £90,000, her parents Belinda and Michael are confident that they can start planning the operation, travel and accommodation for later this year.

Eve's life will change dramatically after the operation and she will be able to do all the things she misses out on at the moment because of the tracheostomy tube.

Eve has had a CAT scan which has been sent to the leading Treacher Collins specialist Dr Joe McArthy who is based in New York.

Soon he will be able to give the family a rough idea when the operation will take place, but it could be as soon as June.

Mum Belinda is delighted with the efforts of people who have donated money to the fund.

The couple had to re-mortgage their house to pay for a consultation with Dr McArthy, but thought they faced a long haul to get enough money for the actual operation.

She said: "I am absolutely staggered by the way people have reacted because I thought it would take about three years to raise the money.

"Eve is very excited but we don't want to say when we think the operation will definitely be in case something changes. We have seen so many wonderful events and people have been wonderful in helping us, it has really taken us by surprise.

"The operation will mean so much to Eve because she will have so much more independence.

"She needs to do her own things and be independent and when the tube has gone there won't be risks of blockages and the like. She is like any other nine-year-old girl and is a real star. I think she has become quite a celebrity and she does enjoy it a lot."

Eve's condition means that not enough bone formed in her face when she was born. She has no external ears and can only hear thanks to an implanted hearing aid.

l Anyone who wants to help with the last push of fundraising can write to the Eve McGuire Trust, PO Box 178, Rawdon, Leeds, LS19 6WZ, visit the website at www.evemcguire.org or call fundraising co-ordinator Neil Hunt on 07831 482405.