Fiona McIvor was hoping to have generated around £1500 from a raffle by the end of the month but her current total is about £400 – £1100 short of her target. Despite that setback she is determined to continue.

Fiona explained that some people seem reluctant to buy the tickets because they are the "cloakroom" type which can be purchased at newsagents rather than the printed ones which cannot be sold without a licence.

"I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of local businesses and have some really good prizes, including the use of a luxury apartment in Spain for a week and two return flights between Wick and Edinburgh, as well as bed-and-breakfast accommodation in Inverness and vouchers for local shops, but some members of the public are not keen to buy the 'cloakroom' type of raffle ticket," she told the John O'Groat Journal.

"I am disappointed that things are not going so well at the moment and am feeling a little bit down but am determined to try and reach my £1500 target by the time the raffle is drawn at the end of January.

"I am not doing this for the benefit of myself but for my daughter and any other disabled child. The prizes are good and are well worth a pound," said Fiona.

She pointed out that she has a letter from Pennyland Primary School stating that she is an official fundraiser and stressed that anyone who has concerns about the "cloakroom" raffle should contact the Highland Council.

"I see my little daughter every single day and know what a difference raising this money would make to her life.

"It is for her and others that I will keep going," said Fiona.

Elle McIvor, who celebrated her fifth birthday on Boxing Day, has cerebral palsy and Dandy-Walker syndrome – a congenital brain malformation.

The youngster cannot walk and gets about in a wheelchair. She is a primary one pupil at Pennyland and previously attended the nursery there.

There are disabled facilities at the school but primaries four to seven are on an upstairs level and there is no lift in that part of the building.

The Highland Council plans to put in a lift at Pennyland but it is likely to be some time before the scheme gets under way, so Fiona decided to speed up the process by launching her fundraising initiative.

She has no criticism of the school or the local authority but wants to help get this money so the lift can be installed quicker than planned.

Fiona and her husband, Murray, live at Clett Terrace, Scrabster, with Elle, her twin sister Jemma, Callum, who is six, and 20-year-old Jayne.

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