Cancer girl Bethany in red balloons launch; APPEAL: Seven-year-old helping to raise pounds 1/2 million to build a children's burns unit.

Byline: By Emma Stone

COVENTRY youngster Bethany Keenan, who captured the hearts of the city during her battle with cancer, is now helping others at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

The seven-year-old, of Tile Hill, was given only a 30 per cent chance of survival when she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma - a rare type of cancer - in August 2003.

At the time, people across the city rallied round to help the Templars School pupil and her family, collecting more than pounds 50,000 through a variety of fundraisers to help pay for a trip to America, in case Bethany's treatment in the UK failed.

Now in remission, Bethany, together with her identical twin Mollie, has helped launch the Red Balloon Appeal at Birmingham Children's Hospital, where Bethany is a patient. The appeal aims to raise pounds 500,000 from the public for a paediatric burn centre.

The money will allow the hospital to reach its pounds 19million target to build the new facility.

Bethany and her sister travelled in a convoy of red vehicles into the city's Victoria Square, where they helped to release 500 red balloons - one for every child who suffers from burns in the UK each year.

The Paediatric Burn Centre in Birmingham will care for one out of every two children in England with severe burns.

Chairman of the appeal Brian Woods-Scawen said: "We have 140 days to raise the remainder needed. That's a big task but we are confident that with everybody's help we can do it.

"We are appealing to clubs, schools, offices and factory workers, businesses, pubs and shops - everyone in fact - to ensure that when the doors to the new centre officially open in October, severely burned children are treated and cared for in the most advanced facility in Europe."

Visit www.redballoonappeal.co.uk or phone [phone] to make a donation.

Cheques can be sent to Red Balloon Appeal office, Birmingham Children's Hospital, Birmingham, B4 6NH.

CAPTION(S):

TWIN EFFORT... Bethany Keenan (right) and her twin sister Mollie with firefighter Craig Bidgood.