THE mother of a severely disabled child had hit out after she said the cost of a bespoke wheelchair was nearly double the initial estimate.

Franceska Christie has disabilities including quadriplegic cerebral palsy and scoliosis, a curvature of the spine which is so severe one lung has been flattened and other organs are being crushed as she grows.

Her mother, Ceri, has not been able to take her daughter out for more than a year because she cannot fit into a wheelchair.

Franceska's body shape is changing due to her condition and she was advised by the NHS wheelchair service to contact Contour 886, a firm which provides custom-built wheelchairs.

The firm gave a quote of between £3,000 and £6,000 for a chair which would be custom built for Franceska.

However, the final cost of the lifeline was £10,000.

The firm says the figure quoted was just for the chair - without the chassis.

For more on this story, see today's Gazette.