Parents receive £150,000 in donations as toddler recovers from meningitis

Donations for a baby who lost all her limbs to meningitis have continued to pour in. Money raised for 14 month old Harmonie-Rose has now reached £150,000. The family say they're overwhelmed by people's kindness and genoristy - which shows no signs of stopping.

A group of school children from Bath are preparing to swim 1,344 lengths of their school swimming pool tomorrow - the equivalent length of the English Channel. The Monkton Combe Prep School students say they were inspired to help Harmonie-Rose after hearing about her in a school assembly.

The parents of a baby who had to have both her arms and legs amputated after being struck by meningitis say they've now received nearly £150,000 in donations.

Doctors thought Harmonie-Rose Allen wouldn't survive. But the 14-month-old from Bath has defied all odds.

The parents of a baby who had both her arms and legs amputated after being struck by meningitis say they've now received nearly £150,000 in donations.

Doctors thought Harmonie-Rose Allen wouldn't survive but, the fourteen month old from Bath has defied all odds and fought back.

Meningitis charities said thousands of lives could be saved if children had access to a vaccine that was today rejected by the Government.

Sue Davie, chief executive of the Meningitis Trust and Meningitis UK, said:

Meningitis UK estimates that there are 1,870 cases of meningitis B each year in the UK. It says that one in 10 people affected will die.

There is "insufficient" evidence available to support the introduction a Meningitis B immunisation, Government-appointed experts have said.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the efficacy of the Bexsero vaccine "has not been established" and it is "high unlikely" to be cost-effective.

The vaccine was licensed by the European Medicines Agency at the start of the year.

A vaccine that protects against a potentially deadly form of meningitis should not be offered to children in the UK, immunisation experts have said.

The independent panel, which advises the Government on which vaccines should be offered in the UK, released a draft statement saying that the treatment against meningitis B should not be rolled out.

Meningitis B, which is most common in children under five years old, and in particular in babies under the age of one, is a highly aggressive strain of bacterial meningitis. It can cause severe brain damage, septicaemia or even death.

Steve Dayman is the founder of the Bristol-based charity Meningitis UK and gave his reaction to today's news to ITV News West Country: