Pearl Browne will never forget the moment she watched her daughter smile for the first time since an overdose left her virtually paralysed nearly four years ago.

Debbie, 30, was left brain-damaged after a mystery insulin overdose at her home in Wakefield Road, Bradford, in July, 1999.

Today Mrs Browne, of Ridgeway, Wrose, said it broke her heart that mother-of-two Debbie couldn't communicate with her young sons Jamie, seven, and Ethan, six. But she said she was delighted her daughter had started to smile again.

"She smiled for the first time at Christmas when her sons visited her. She was so calm and seemed so content. When the boys left the room a single tear fell down her face," she said.

Now Mrs Browne, 55, is planning a sponsored slim to help raise money to send Debbie to a specialist clinic in Germany.

Mrs Browne and her husband Derek, 56, heard about a rehabilitation programme at the Schmieder Clinic, a specialist neurological clinic, from a television programme.

"We are convinced that Debbie will improve but she needs constant and specific care and the only place that can happen is the Schmieder Clinic," said Mrs Browne.

"She needs a lot of stimulation. We are there for her as much as we can be but it is obviously not the same. We are absolutely determined to get our daughter through this. What else can we do?"

Despite being told that former horse riding instructor Debbie is likely to remain in a vegetative state, the family believes she can improve.

She has been looked after at the Currergate Nursing Home in Steeton, near Keighley, for almost three years where she receives round-the-clock care.

She was at home for six months but her mother, who is registered disabled herself, was unable to cope and ended up collapsing with pneumonia. Now Mrs Browne is concentrating her efforts on raising money, but she said only £2,500 had been raised so far.

"We have been doing little things to raise money. Baildon actor Danny Cunningham had a headshave, which was brilliant, but things are slowing down now and we really need to get the fund going again," said Mrs Browne who aims to lose two stones in six months and is seeking sponsors.

An account has been set up at the Shipley branch of Lloyds TSB with checques payable to the Schmeider clinic. Or call Pearl Browne on (01274) 591978.