THE parents of a little girl who is terminally ill have named a star after her - so her name will live on forever.

Four-year-old Amy Rhianne Allen suffers from the incurable Battens Disease, a rare genetic disorder. And her parents Debbie and Stephen, of Southworth Street, Blackburn, have been warned by medical specialists that she is unlikely to live beyond the age of six.

But to keep her memory alive they have paid for a star to be named after Amy.

"It was Amy's grandmother who discovered where we could buy a star to name after her," said Debbie.

"We have a chart on the wall in the living room pin-pointing exactly where it is. I thought it was a wonderful idea so we went ahead."

Amy's star is registered at the International Star Registry based in Switzerland and recorded in a book copyrighting it in the USA.

Debbie added: "I grieve for Amy everyday. In fact there isn't a single day that I don't breakdown and cry.

"But to me this beautiful star is immortalizing Amy and after she's gone I'll be able to look up into the night sky and gain comfort and strength from knowing that she's watching over all of us."

For the Allens, everyday they spend with Amy is a bonus.

Debbie recalled the time when she realised something was wrong.

"Amy was born a perfectly healthy, bouncing, baby girl," said Debbie. "But at 16 months of age I noticed there was something terribly wrong with her.

"She was lethargic and uninterested in everything.

"Stephen and I will never forget that hateful day when the specialist diagnosed Battens Disease in Amy. He explained there was no cure and that it was wise for us to prepare ourselves for the very worst - that our beautiful baby daughter would only live to six-years-of-age at the most.

"I remember being in utter shock and total disbelief at what I was hearing. I felt numb. I just said over and over, my darling Amy, my baby, is going to die. Nobody hated God as much as I did."

At the time Amy was diagnosed with Battens Disease, Debbie was six months pregnant with her second child, Katee.

She said: "I just panicked. I asked God why? Why has this happened to us? Why have you done this to Amy and what about my baby inside me?"

Debbie had her unborn baby tested for Battens Disease. Katee, now two, hasn't got the disease. However she has been diagnosed as a "carrier" of the genetic disorder which affects approximately one child in 400,000. A supermarket trolley dash to help raise funds for the Amy Allen Appeal Fund was held at Blackburn's Asda supermarket at Grimshaw Retail Park this week. Blackburn Rovers defender Gary Croft and striker James Beattie drew the prizes. Store worker Pauline Cowell won the first prize of a trolley dash. The draw raised £637 for the appeal.

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