SHE’S the inspirational Hampshire mum who has raised £50,000 to fund a vital operation that will enable her three-year-old son to walk.

Now Vicki Mills has launched a campaign to help hundreds of other children across the country who need similar surgery.

Vicki, 29, of Hythe, is calling for a life-changing procedure known as Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) to be made available on the NHS.

She has launched an online petition that has already attracted more than 500 signatures.

Under government rules, the issue is likely to be debated in Parliament if she manages to gather 100,000 signatures by the end of March.

Vicki has just spent 17 months raising the £50,000 needed to help her son James, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is unable to walk unaided.

He is due to undergo SDR at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London next year.

But Vicki wants other mums to be spared the worry of trying to raise tens of thousands of pounds while looking after a sick child at the same time.

They include Zara Cullen, whose seven-year-old daughter Keeley is also due to have the operation next year. Zara, 28, of Marchwood, faces the task of raising £50,000 in just seven months.

Some SDR procedures have been carried out on the NHS but the limited amount of funding available for the technique has already dried up.

Vicki said: “We’ve been lucky enough to raise the funds for James’s surgery to enable him to walk but there are hundreds of children who are being turned away by the NHS as no more funds have been released. I’m hoping to help other families in my position so I’ve started an online petition.

“At 10,000 signatures we will get a response from the government – and at 100,000 we will be considered for a debate in Parliament.”

In a message to potential signatories she added: “Let’s get the answers we want. Give these children the life-changing operation they need.”

SDR aims to improve a patient’s mobility by cutting the faulty nerves responsible for muscle rigidity.

As reported in the Daily Echo, Vicki raised the money with the help of former Saints chairman Leon Crouch, who donated half the cash needed to fund the surgery and associated aftercare.

An NHS England spokesman said: “SDR is an extremely complex procedure which involves opening up the bones of the spine to operate on the nerves.

“The NHS does not routinely fund SDR for the condition because, although it is a promising treatment, current evidence on its effectiveness in such cases is limited.”

To sign Vicki's petition visit petition.parliament.uk/petitions/109580.