An amazing little seven-year-old girl, Mia Phillips, has been the inspiration that has brought in over £30,000 for the work of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

When new-born Mia was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, her parents, Merrilee and Chris Phillips, of Templeton, set themselves a target of raising £25,000 for the Trust by her fifth birthday and with help from their friends the Mia Appeal went on to bring in an additional £5,000 by her seventh birthday.

In June, still fund-raising, Merrilee, with 41 other ladies, celebrated Mia's seven years with a seven-mile Hawaiian themed walk, which raised a further £600.

This was matched pound for pound by Karl Watson, of Stepaside Heritage Park, while an additional donation from Barclays Bank brought the total figure for the walk to £2,000.

Thanks are due to Bev from the Evergreen who provided a fantastic buffet for the walkers.

Said Kathy Brown, Barclays community manager: "At Barclays we strive to strengthen local communities in which we work and live by supporting a range of causes from local schools and charities to centres for older people.

"This is a fantastic example of Barclays staff fund-raising with the local community to achieve something which we hope will make a real and lasting difference," she added.

The walk was also in memory of 22-year-old Chloe Piper, a CF patient who died recently.

Chloe was the granddaughter of former Pembrokeshire CF branch secretary, Barbara Piper and John Piper.

Chloe loved life and was an inspiration to all who knew her. She touched many by her bravery and fortitude during constant treatment and hospital admissions.

Donations to Mia's Appeal are channelled through the Pembrokeshire branch of the CF Trust which supports research into a much longed for cure for this condition and also the work for the CF Units at Llandough and the Heath Hospitals, Cardiff, two centres of excellence which have overall responsibility for the care of CF patients in Pembrokeshire - such as Mia.

The units also provide clinics which regularly attend at Withybush Hospital.

Now, in what she describes as "a moment of madness" inspired by her "amazing" daughter, 36-year-old Merrilee, who took up running only 12 months ago, has signed up for the Cardiff Half Marathon, which takes place on Sunday, determined to raise still more much-needed funds for the CF Trust.

There are cherished hopes that the gene therapy trials currently underway on a selection of CF patients will be successful and that ultimately a cure will be found for Mia and the many others like her who have Cystic Fibrosis.

Anyone wishing to sponsor Merrilee should ring 07773492323 or visit http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/MummyMiaP">www.virginmoneygiving.com/MummyMiaP