A LITTLE girl who lost her hands to meningitis as a baby is learning to play the piano.

In a moving video released by her mother, Tilly Lockey is seen playing the haunting opening bars of the theme song from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

The nine-year-old youngster taps out each of the notes, before throwing her arms into the air and smiling for the camera when she reaches the end of the sequence.

Her mother, Sarah Lockey, from Consett, County Durham, said: “Tilly is just playing a simple version of Beauty and the Beast but it was one of those proud parent moments that I posted it online.

“She is an inspiration to me that she doesn't let having no hands stand in the way of what she loves to do. She loves her piano.”

Mrs Lockey said the family has had a regular piano for about four years and Tilly sits with her husband, Adam, and the pair work out Disney tunes together.

Mrs Lockey said: “It's now the first thing she plays with when she gets out of bed on a morning. The older she gets the more she is using it.”

Tilly, a pupil at St Mary’s School in Blackhill, near Consett, has three sisters: Hermione, Lucy-Anna and Tia.

She lost her hands after developing Group b meningococcal septicaemia as a toddler in 2007.

Her family has devoted their lives to raising money to buy her prosthetic hands as she grows up and their fundraising campaign has moved people across the North-East community to help.

Despite her tender years, brave Tilly is an ambassador for Meningitis Research and is one of the faces for The Meningitis Help Charitable Trust.

Last year, she was asked to switch on the Durham County Council Christmas lights at County Hall in Durham City.

Mrs Lockey said: “I can always remember someone professional saying after her amputations 'Well she'll never be a piano player' and I thought it was such a negative comment.

“Tilly can't use her prosthetic hands to play the piano but she doesn't let her disability stop her from doing anything.”

To donate to Tilly’s appeal visit www.givetillyahand.com