PEOPLE in the Okehampton area who raised the cash to bring a little Gambian boy to England for a life saving heart operation four years ago are being called upon again to fund a return visit.

Pa Modou needs to return for a check-up at the Bristol Children?s Hospital following concern from his Gambian doctor.

More than £12,500 was raised in 1998, after Drewsteignton resident Christine Pleydell, who met Pa and his family on holiday, responded to his plight.

With very limited medical facilities in the Gambia, Pa, who was six at the time, could have died had he not been brought to England for an operation to cure a hole in the heart condition.

Christine, who now lives in Padstow, is hoping the people who helped saved his life will once again put their hands into their pockets to make sure Pa continues to stay healthy.

?I feel very grateful to the Okehampton Times who first ran the story and all the local people who responded to the appeal,? she said.

?With the money we raised, I have been able to continue paying all Pa?s doctors and school fees in the Gambia, but it will not stretch to the visit back to England.?

The doctor who performed the heart operation has once again offered his services free of charge, but Christine needs to raise about £4,000 to fund hospital fees, air fares and living expenses for Pa and his mother.

She said he had missed quite a bit of schooling through illness and this was why he needed the check-up.

?Pa?s doctor is a bit concerned about him and wants him to see Dr Martin at Bristol to make sure everything is OK,? she said.

?They just do not have the equipment out there to do this and although in Senegal they have, there is nobody trained to use it.?

The last time Christine saw Pa was in March when she also visited his school and doctor.

She said he was now much more fluent in the English language and was able to understand a lot more.

?When Pa came over last time, we made some Gambian friends in Bristol so the aim is to stay with them next summer,? she said.

?Because we had such a wonderful response from the Okehampton area I also hope to bring him here to meet lots of his old friends.?

Among those who helped the appeal were children from Okehampton College.

Christine can be contacted on 01841 533671 if anyone would like to help her latest appeal.