SEDGLEY tot Rosie Byrne may be battling leukaemia but she still has a smile on her face thanks to a charity that has transformed her garden and given her a new lease of life.

The youngster has endured chemotherapy, surgery, two stays in intensive care and a spell on life support machines since she was struck down with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia as she approached her third birthday in January.

Although tests have shown the first round of treatment cleared the leukaemia cells, Rosie still has months of chemotherapy ahead of her and as treatment leaves her vulnerable to infection, she is mostly confined to her Hickmerelands Lane home.

Her mum Jenny said the youngster was unable to play in the garden before as it was overgrown and uneven so she was thrilled when Tipton-based charity Love2Give decided to give it a makeover.

The charity, co-founded by Pete Jackson, heard about Rosie's story through a family friend and wanted to do something to help.

He said: "When I went to meet the family, they were just so genuine and told me what they had been through. When I looked at the kids faces, I asked them what we could do to help.

"They said there wasn’t anything they needed so I suggested doing the garden to encourage Rosie to get some fresh air."

Over three days, volunteers levelled the garden, put astroturf down and built a two-storey play house for Rosie to enjoy with her two brothers, Jonah, aged five and 11-month-old Gerard.

Mr Jackson said the project cost around £3,000, which was raised after a sponsored Mount Snowdon hike in July but many trades people, including landscaper Rob Cullis, had worked for free.

The end result has "lifted" Rosie, according to Mrs Byrne, who added: "The last few months have been so much brighter as we've all been really excited knowing what was coming.

"Rosie loves it, they all do, it's wonderful. They have made it into their own little den and Jonah loves having his own football pitch.

"They all worked so hard and had a real attention to detail - it's totally safe and hassle-free not having to cut the grass. It gives us time to focus on what's important, we can't thank them enough, it's all perfect."