A HAMPSHIRE youngster who was once given a 50-50 chance of survival has finally beaten the cancer that has dogged her since she was a toddler - and it's all thanks to her courageous little brother.

Charlotte Taylor, now ten, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when she was just two years old.

After radiotherapy and chemotherapy failed to combat the disease, she was told her only chance of survival was a bone marrow transplant.

Charlotte's brother Ryan, then three, was found to be a perfect match and the two children underwent operations to transplant the bone marrow in 1997.

Following the procedure, Charlotte, of Sunset Road, Totton, was given a 50-50 chance of survival, but now, after five years of anxious waiting, the operation has finally been hailed a complete success.

The little girl's mum, Lisa, said the whole family is overjoyed at the news.

She said: "It still hasn't sunk in. I said to Charlotte 'It's all down to Ryan and down to you because you fought as well.'

"She said, 'I know it's all down to Ryan. I'm so glad you had him, Mum'. She's just remarkable, she really is. Well, both of them are, really. Ryan saved her life, which he doesn't let her forget."

Years of treatment have taken their toll on Charlotte, who is a pupil at Abbotswood Junior School.

She lost 23 per cent of her brain cells following radiotherapy and her growth has also been stunted.

The youngster, who cannot walk very far before getting out of breath, has to have physiotherapy three times a day and still visits the hospital once a week for hydrotherapy and physiotherapy.

Her ovaries have also been damaged by years of chemotherapy, and Charlotte will never be able to have children.

But Mrs Taylor said it is a small price to pay.

She added: "I didn't think she'd still be here today. We had loads of letters saying people were praying for us and it's just a big thank you.

"Whatever they did, and all their prayers, it worked, it really did."

The family is celebrating the success of Ryan and Charlotte's bone marrow transplant with a special party on the afternoon of June 1, to which school friends and relatives have been invited.