A three-year old suffering a rare genetic disorder is the focus of a campaign launched by the Wiltshire Times.

Zara Fox needs treatment in America for Coffin-Siris Syndrome, which affects her speech, feeding and limbs.

Only a handful of people in the world are thought to suffer from the disorder with the oldest known survivor being 32. The condition has no known cure.

The Wiltshire Times is backing a campaign by Zara’s parents, who want to raise £6,000 to pay for the specialist treatment.

Her mum Joanne said: “We realised something was wrong. She looked very different to my first child. She had a very unusual cry and she wasn’t interested in feeding. She had stiff arms and legs. She was taken into special care but they didn’t know what was wrong with her.”

After Zara’s condition worsened she was referred to the genetic disease clinic at St James’s Hospital in Leeds where she was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome.

Although the conditions have similar symptoms she was later diagnosed with Coffin-Siris Syndrome at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Joanne, who has two other children, said: “Zara is just like a baby because she’s still wearing nappies and needs everything to be done for her. She has to be fed every night by a machine which pumps milk through a tube into her tummy.

“Children always need you to give them 100 per cent but with Zara it has to be more.”

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