Dreams for a restful night’s sleep have been shared by a Burbage family fronting a new campaign to boost awareness of genetic disorders.

The Stevenson family have become the face of national campaign #DreamsforGenes by sharing their experiences of living with a child with a genetic disorder.

The campaign is linked to the popular Jeans 4 Genes day in which schools and workers wear jeans for charity.

10-year-old Lily has Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS), a disorder that dramatically affects her sleeping patterns, often causing her to wake and become restless in the night.

Parents Leeann and Will have spent the last ten years battling for more sleep and shared the ways in which the illness has effected family life.

Explaining her dream for her family, Mrs Stevenson, 43, said: “that we should all be able to have a good night’s sleep so that we can all dream again.

“We have had our sleep affected for 10 years - the impact this has had on us as a family is immense.

“I worry about Lily - her long term health - how the sleep disturbance will affect her.

“We know how it affects us over the long term, I’ve definitely experienced increased stress, anxiety, chronic fatigue - I am always tired - and have experienced depression at times.”

Other signs of SMS include mild to severe intellectual disability, delayed speech and behavioural problems including self-harm.

The family of five moved to Burbage just before Lily was born ten years ago, who now attends Marlborough St Mary’s primary school which has specialist resources for children with special educational needs.

Praising the school Mrs Stevenson said: “The children are amazing with Lily by being so accepting and supporting of her.”

Mr and Mrs Stevenson also have two sons, William, 6, and Teddy, 3.

The family will now front the charity’s national campaign for the event which takes place on September 22.

To register for Jeans for Genes Day on Friday, September 22, go to jeansforgenesday.org