A BLACKBURN teenager proudly showed off her amazing collection of dolls as part of an annual ritual that her family says gives her great comfort.

Rachel Taylor suffers from an extremely rare condition called ring chromosome 20, which means she has severe epilepsy and suffers seizures every few days.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The 18-year-old struggles to communicate, but has found a remarkable relief in her collection of more than 130 dolls that she puts on display every summer.

Her sister, Ashley Taylor, 22, explained: “Rachel’s condition affects her mentally and causes her to have severe epilepsy.

“There is no cure and it means she has seizures roughly every five to eight days.

“Every six weeks it’s bad enough for her to end up in hospital.” Rachel is the youngest of eight children and lives with her mum Carole in Greenside Avenue, Livesey, Blackburn.

Her interest in dolls started at a young age and her collection has since swelled to a staggering 132, which are normally stored in the spare room.

Lancashire Telegraph:

But once a year they make the journey downstairs for what has become known as ‘Dolly Day’, which gives Rachel the chance to show friends and family her pride and joys.

Ashley added: “She’s a very happy girl and loves singing and dancing – and she loves her dolls.

“She puts them all out on the settee for her brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces to enjoy.

“It’s the seventh year we’ve had Dolly Day and it’s great we can get together for it.

“The collection started when she was a baby and she gets them every Christmas and birthday.”

Genetic condition ring chromosome 20, affects the development and function of the brain and is thought to affect only a handful of people worldwide.