A SIMPLE piece of equipment that costs just £500 would allow a little girl from Tiverton to relax free from pain.

Libby Orr, nine, has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and often finds it extremely uncomfortable to sit. She also has epilepsy which results in frequent seizures.

Statutory services have provided her with a formal high chair but Libby is not able to sit in it for more than an hour without experiencing pain.

A specialist P-pod chair would allow the St Andrews Primary School pupil to sit pain-free and means she could play alongside her three-year-old sister, Ella.

Statutory services will not fund the equipment so Libby’s mum Rachael turned to the Newlife Foundation charity for help.

She said: “It would be absolutely wonderful to have a P-pod chair – they are so cosy and are exactly what Libby needs.

“At the moment Libby always has to sit in her wheelchair or high chair and she is so well strapped in it can be very uncomfortable.”

Newlife has launched a local fundraising appeal to buy the P-pod chair, a specialist seat, similar to a beanbag, that will mould to Libby’s body to give the seating support and comfort she needs.

Newlife has funded 147 equipment grants for disabled and terminally ill children in Devon, totalling £328,143.

But demand for its services has shot up in recent months and it is appealing to ‘local heroes’ to come forward to fundraise or give towards the cost of equipment for children in the county.