A LITTLE girl’s wish to walk unaided is set to come true after a target of £60,000 to send her to America for pioneering surgery has been exceeded.

Polish girl, Susanna Petersburska, who suffers from cerebral palsy, can’t wait to play with her sister, Maja, aged seven.

Restaurant chain Frankie and Benny’s raised a phenomenal £100,000 in a weekend of fundraising.

They donated the sale of every kid’s meal bought across the country to the Help Susanna Walk Appeal.

Susanna’s dad, Andrzej, aged 36, a waiter at the Widnes branch, said: “I want to say a big thank you to everybody for each pound that was raised. It’s been amazing.

“I always believed we would get it, but to do it like this was a surprise. We have been in touch with the hospital and already have received an email confirming October as a date for the operation. All we need to do now is sort out passports and visas.

“I’m just so proud. We always kept positive but when we reached the total, it made the family cry.”

Monika, aged 35, from Eccleston, St Helens, said: “If she has the operation, she has a great chance to walk independently.

The pioneering surgery is called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy and involves cutting some of the sensory nerve fibres from the muscles into the spinal cord. It has a 100 per cent success rate.

Danny Breithaupt, managing director of Frankie & Benny’s, said: “Susanna is a very special little girl and we are so pleased to have helped her cause and be able to make a real difference to her life.

“Raising above and beyond the £60,000 needed means we can work alongside the charity, Caudwell Children, to use the additional funds raised to help other children in need.”