THREE-YEAR-OLD Nicki James, who just a year ago thought he may never walk, has started to take his first steps.

Cerebral palsy sufferer Nicki, of Quakers View, Brierfield, could not sit up straight and struggled to put one foot in front of the other.

But after a 'miracle month' at the Peto Insititute in Hungary, one of the world's top cerebral palsy centres, and regular visits to specialists in Liverpool, his mum has finally heard the words she had only dreamed she would hear.

For Kirsty, 23, was told during her stay at the institute that it was possible Nicki would eventually be able to walk unaided.

She said: "Everyone is positive that because he is doing so well he will walk independently. No-one would say before for definite what he would or wouldn't be able to do. It is so nice to finally hear that.

"He started learning to walk with sticks when he was 18 months old but we never knew whether he would be any more independent than that. He has started doing bits and bats on his own and he did ten steps across the garden a couple of days ago. We are now hoping that by next year when he goes to school he will be able to walk without the sticks.

"He will still have the one-to-one help to go to the toilet and do other things. He tells me he is practising and getting better for when he goes to school.

"The conductive education he had in Hungary was fabulous and now he is getting it in Liverpool. We have to go three times a week but it's definitely worth it."

Nicki spent a month at the Hungarian insititute after local people helped raise £7,500 -- £2,500 more than Kirsty's target -- to send him out there.

His conductive education consisted of repetitive daily routines without the use of special machines and modern technology.

He was taught the basics of walking in stages, including the lifting of his leg, placing it in front of him and flattening his foot, until his brain grasped the concept and remembered it.

Kirsty said: "We have still got about £2,500 of the money left which we were hanging onto in case he needs to go back to Hungary. If they decide he doesn't need to go back we will donate it to the Lee Sykes National Centre in Liverpool, which looks after 96 children like Nicki and is self-funded. The conductive education that Nicki is getting is free so people are always fundraising to keep the centre open.

"They are teaching Nicki's brain to take over and do the things that the brain damage has taken away. At 12 months old a normal child would have got up and started walking. Nicki is being taught the basics like lifting his foot up and putting it down again and eventually his brain remembers it because it so repetitive.

"He sits up lovely and tall now where as he used to curl up a little bit. He stands up really tall now too. He's doing really well and we are absolutely over the moon. We will carry on with the conductive education even when he goes to school so he doesn't forget anything."