WATCHING the children's film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is always a magical experience for two-year-old Milli Denley.

The Hampshire toddler never tires of seeing the adventures of the famous flying car and now Milli's mother Kelly has worked a little magic of her own.

She helped her daughter recover from a 15-hour operation by singing a song from the film at Milli's bedside.

Kelly said Milli almost died after a marathon attempt by surgeons at Southampton General Hospital to repair a damaged leg artery. The operation was abandoned and Milli transferred to the intensive care unit after her condition deteriorated.

Kelly, 30, of Bransgore, feared her little girl might not pull through and sang one of the tiny tot's favourite songs - Truly Scrumptious. As she did so Milli recovered consciousness and went on to make an amazing recovery, leaving hospital just three days later. Milli was born with serious heart defects. An artery in her leg was damaged during previous bypass surgery and had to be repaired because it was preventing the limb from growing normally.

Kelly added: "Surgeons had been operating for 15 hours when Milli's condition deteriorated and she came very close to not surviving. They abandoned the operation and transferred her to intensive care.

"Once her condition had been stabilised we were allowed to see her. I decided to sing Truly Scrumptious and she woke up.

"The hospital couldn't believe how quickly she recovered."

To welcome her home, Milli's grandmother Carol Phillips bought her a model of Chitty from the shop at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. When staff heard about Milli's story they invited her to sit in one of the cars used in the film which starred Dick Van Dyke as inventor Caractacus Pots and Sally Ann Howes as Truly Scrumptious.

Kelly added: "We're so grateful. We'd taken her there to see the car several times but never thought she'd get an opportunity to sit in the vehicle."

Milli was accompanied by her parents and her three brothers, 13-year-old twins Harry and Tom and 11-year-old Jake. She was also taken to the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, to see the stage version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Kelly and her husband Chris, a 42-year-old restaurant manager, are taking each day as it comes.

"Milli's future is uncertain but we don't want her to have any further operations at the moment," said Kelly.

"We just want her to be as well as possible and enjoy being a little girl."