FROM the adorable smile on Phoebe Whittle's face, you would never know she once needed life-saving heart surgery.

The Blackrod youngster amazed experts when she became the youngest Briton to recover from vital cardiac surgery at just four weeks old.

Two years on, parents Charlotte and Carl Whittle say their little "braveheart" has grown into a giggly little two-year-old who loves walking the dogs and playing with her big brother Louis.

Mrs Whittle said: "Phoebe's doing really well. She's our little super star and we're so proud of her.

"We almost lost her when she was a baby so it's amazing to see how far she's come."

Phoebe was only a few weeks old when she started having trouble breathing and needed treatment for pneumonia.

She was discharged but it was on Mother’s Day in 2011 that Mrs Whittle became certain there was something wrong with her baby.

Phoebe was rushed to the Royal Bolton Hospital’s high dependency unit for a heart scan and then transported to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool, in a critical condition.

She was then diagnosed with a rare cardiac condition called ALCAPA syndrome — a congenital defect meaning her heart was pumping deoxygenated blood to her lungs.

Doctors took Phoebe straight into theatre for heart surgery and prepared her parents for a long and difficult recovery.

But little Phoebe managed to make a full recovery in just 10 days.

After spending three days in intensive care and a week in the cardiac ward, she was able to go home.

Now Phoebe still needs regular check ups and sometimes struggles to fight off viruses and bugs.

But thanks to a new a new mobile scanner donated to the Royal Bolton Hospital, Phoebe can checked out quickly without having to travel to Alder Hey for a heart scan.

Mrs Whittle, aged 29, added: "Phoebe can pretty much do everything other toddlers do.

"Sometimes she gets tired very quickly and things like chest infections mean she has to go into hospital.

"If we think there's anything wrong, we can go to the clinic at the Royal Bolton. It's massively reassuring to have such quick access to scanner and be reassured she's ok.

"It does take a toll on us as parents. I really struggled for the first 12 months because I was in a constant state of anxiety about her heart.

"I can't express how important it is to have confidence in your local hospital. Dr Misra was the one who first detected the problem in the first place and saved her life."

The new £27,000 mobile scanner �— known as an echocardiogram �— was paid for by the charitable donations and a large contribution from the Bolton Masaajids Collection Committee (BMCC).

As well as identifying life-threatening heart problems like Phoebe's, it can also serve to reassure parents when, for example, a murmur is innocent.

The Royal Bolton Hospital is now one of the few district general hospitals in the region with such equipment and a consultant who specialises in paediatric cardiology.