A LIVE music event is the latest step in a fundraising drive to get a little Melksham girl the new wheelchair she desperately needs.

Since Nina Leonard, four, was featured in the Wiltshire Times people from all over west Wiltshire and beyond have been coming forward with donations and ideas to help raise the £4,000 needed for the wheelchair and a specialised bed and mattress.

Warminster-based band Platoon Zero have come up with the idea of bringing together local bands to take part in a fundraising gig the only problem is they have yet to find a venue.

Band member Rob Wickett said: "We heard about Nina through her sister and my band are hoping to put together an event where any local bands can play a set of their music.

"The only problem is a venue as we do not wish to pay for one as our main priority is making money for Nina."

Platoon Zero play punk music but are hoping to attract as many different bands as possible to draw a wide audience to the gig, which is planned for late September.

Nina has cerebral palsy, which means she is confined to a wheelchair and needs 24-hour care.

The little girl has defied doctors' expectations by qualifying to go to a mainstream primary school from September.

She will join Lowbourne Infants School but, as she has outgrown her buggy, her parents fear she won't be able to fully take part in school life as she doesn't have a suitable outdoor wheelchair.

At the moment her parents, Elaine and Philip, always have to make sure one of them stays at home with Nina as they have been advised that she shouldn't spend more than 15 minutes at a time in her chair.

The couple, who have three other children, Mark, 22, Rachel, 17, and Jacob, five, said the new chair would transform all their lives.

Mrs Leonard said: "The chair is important not just for her needs but the whole family. At the moment we can't even go to the supermarket as a family. We can't go on walks or weekends away."

Anyone who can offer a venue for the music event, or bands that would like to take part, can contact Rob Wickett on 07793 141493.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the appeal or hold a fundraising event can contact the Wiltshire Times newsdesk on (01225) 352491.