A BRAVE little girl given just an 80 per cent chance of survival after a serious operation was given a weekend to remember at a popular theme park.

Five-year-old Gabriella Collings was treated to a luxury stay at Gulliver’s World in Warrington by the charity Stagedoor Productions.

She was born with a heart condition and at nine months old she was put on life support at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

Before the operation, doctors told her parents Ian and Emma Collings that their daughter could die.

But Gabriella pulled through and her family put the bad times behind them when they were taken on their fun-filled trip to Gulliver’s World — in a limousine.

Emma, aged 36, of Atherton, said: “It was a brilliant weekend. It was magical to see Gabriella and brother Lucas having fun and being able to spend time with them.

“Gabriella was beside herself with excitement when she saw our Princess-themed hotel room.

“I kept having flashbacks to when she was a fragile baby in hospital and I remember signing forms before her operation thinking ‘she might not make it’.

“Then I saw her at Gullivers World, having an amazing time .

“It’s difficult to put it into words. It was a precious memory.”

Gabriella’s illness turned her family’s lives upside down.

Emma had to stay in hospital accommodation for six months while she looked after Gabriella, while Lucas moved in with his grandparents as husband Ian could not look after his son single-handedly due to work commitments..

Gabriella, now a Year One pupil at St Michaels C E Primary School in Wigan, is able to walk and talk without any difficulty after receiving speech therapy, physiotherapy and a walking frame following her life saving operation.

Chris Anderton, chairman of Stagedoor Productions, said: “The Collings had such a wonderful time, the kids loved every minute.

“It was incredible to see the looks on their faces. It’s the biggest reward there is.”