Staff at an Oxford centre for disabled children have been given £2,500 to buy equipment.

The Hugh Ellis Paediatric Assessment Centre (Hepac), at the Churchill Hospital, in Headington, is a one-stop clinic which assesses pre-school children suffering from a range of disabilities, and makes improvements for them and their families.

Magazine distributer Candis Club has donated the money out of its charity fund after being approached by James Ross, whose daughter Beth, four, is disabled. Mr Ross, and his wife Lynn, live in Evelin Road, Abingdon, with Beth, Toby, six, and Katy, three.

Beth suffers from severe dyslexia and global developmental delay, which has left her like a newborn baby.

Through Hepac, which helps about 200 families a year, specialists were able to sort out a number of issues, including what was wrong with their daughter and offer equipment for their home.

Mr Ross said: "In the first two years Hepac was a very significant service in terms of easing pressures that we were going through." The centre sees four children and their families every week.

It has a nursery nurse who looks after the disabled children and siblings while parents talk to specialists.

The donated money will be used to buy equipment such as chairs, sleep systems and special wheelchairs.