JUST a few months ago little Jasmine Armstrong could hardly get out of bed on her own.

Now, against all odds, she is joining more than 100 people in a sponsored walk on Southampton Common.

Each one will be raising money for the Arthritis Research Campaign by doing the Noddy Walk.

For four-year-old Jasmine, who suffers with arthritis, the walk means even more than a stroll around the park.

She started having problems when she was just one-and-a-half.

After a few months of extensive tests, Dr Brian Davidson, a rheumatologist at Southampton General Hospital, diagnosed her condition.

Jasmine, who attends Berrywood School in Hedge End, has been on a strong drug to control her condition for a year but she still has pain, which sometimes leads her to need steroid injections in her knees. It is so distressing that she must go under a general anaesthetic before she has these injections.

She has to have regular tests to check that her eyes and liver have not been damaged by the strong drugs she is taking and she has physiotherapy every three months.

Jasmine will be taking part in the Noddy Walk, along with mum Sarah, dad David and little brother Jamie to raise money for the Arthritis Research Campaign.

Mum Sarah said: "She's really looking forward to seeing Noddy. Just before Easter she had a really bad flare-up and I was having to carry her out of bed and drive her right into school. She couldn't even sit with her legs crossed, she had to have them straight out in front of her.

"She copes very well though, she's a real tomboy and she tries her best to do what all the other children do."

Jasmine's parents, who live in Beattie Rise, Hedge End, only heard about the charity a few weeks ago through a hospital consultant and saw the walk advertised in the Daily Echo.

They are hoping to raise a few hundred pounds for the charity by walking three miles round Southampton Common as a family.

Jasmine will be pulled on her buggy board by her parents and her 20-month-old brother Jamie will come along for the ride in his pushchair. This is the first event of its kind organised by the Arthritis Research Campaign in Southampton and it is expected that more than 100 families will be walking along with cartoon character Noddy on the Common.

Organisers hope to run the event for three consecutive years.

ARTHRITIS FACTS:

There are two main forms of arthritis, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthritis sufferers have persistent joint pain, stiffness and swelling.

It is a common misconception that only the elderly suffer from arthritis. Children, teenagers and adults can all be affected.

206 million working days are lost a year due to arthritis and related conditions.

Arthritis and related conditions cost the UK taxpayer more than £5.5 billion every year.

More than seven million adults in the UK have long-term health problems due to arthritis and related conditions.

Arthritis Research Campaign funds pioneering research at Southampton University, The Medical Research Council, Southampton and Southampton General Hospital.

TO REGISTER FOR THE NODDY WALK RING THE EVENTS TEAM ON 01246 541108.