A CEREBRAL palsy sufferer has defied the odds and written her own life story... using just one finger.

Ann Whitaker was born in Yorkshire in 1964, but has lived at Rough Lee Home in Accrington for the past 10 years.

During that time she has met the Pope, enjoyed various holidays and regularly been to football matches to see her team, Blackburn Rovers.

It is a far cry from when her parents Richard and Audrey were told by a paediatrician that Ann would be a "cabbage" for her entire life.

Ann's mum passed away last year, but the 39-year-old has dedicated her work, Giving Life a Go, to her memory.

She wrote the book using a specially adapted keyboard in her room at the home after being inspired by taking creative writing classes at Blackburn College; her tutor was so impressed with her work, she suggested that Ann should write her life story.

Her dad Richard, who now lives in Blackburn, said: "She was the only disabled person in the group but they accepted her for who she is. She has amazed everyone. When she was three months old, we took her to a paediatrician who said she was brain damaged and advised us to put her in a home and forget about her."

"But when we took her to another specialist, she told us it was just physical and, with love and care of friends, we would get through it. That's what we have been fighting for for 30 years."

Ann has also been helped by the pioneering work of Dr Peter Blythe at the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology, who specialises in working with children with learning and co-ordination difficulties.

Mrs Shiela Baines, manager at Rough Lee, said of Ann: "Her book has been her salvation. It has given her something to really focus on. She has received lots of letters from people inspired by reading it."

The book is available from the following local outlets: Abbey Christian Books, in Union Road, Oswaldtwistle; Wardleworth Bookshop Ltd, in Broadway, Accrington and The Works, also in Broadway, Accrington.