Community rallies round Westbury girl

THE LOCAL community has been raising money to help a Westbury girl, who was badly burnt in an horrific accident, a family holiday in Florida.

10-year-old Emily Smith suffered burns to her head, ear, and shoulder in an accident at home when a bottle of nit lotion caught fire. She was airlifted to a specialist paediatric burns unit in Bristol where she was treated for full thickness burns, the equivalent of third degree burns.

When Suave, the coffee shop and wine bar on Warminster Road, heard of Emily’s horrific experience, they decided to step in with a fundraising day.

Emily’s mother won a holiday in Florida at Suave’s Ladies Day in June, which was held in aid of Dorothy House. However, the prize did not include flights and a fundraising day on Sunday featured a barbecue, raffle, auction and activities to help raise money for the family’s travelling costs.

Shelley Sperring of Suave said, “It went brilliantly, Emily had a lovely day and we raised £1,115. We’re hoping that will nearly get them the tickets, but we’re still having people come in and donate. She’ll be going one way or another!

“We felt we needed to do something for them. People came in and handed in prizes – a new mobile phone, printer, apartment in Spain, a month’s taekwondo for a family, dinner for four, MOTs – we’ve had really good support locally and I’m really pleased.”

Pictured: Shelley Sperring of Suave and Emily Smith with some of the prizes donated by local businesses.