When the owners of an Eastcote bar heard about Casey Burke's appeal to raise money for her best friend Matilda Duncan they jumped at the chance to help out.

Today the Walking Matilda fund, to pay for an operation so that Matilda will be able to walk unaided, hit its target of £40,000 and money is still coming in.

Suzanne Burke, the mother of four-year-old Casey, and Rachel Knowles, mum to Matilda, have said they will keep raising money, and plan to help other children like Matilda, who suffers from cerebral palsy.

Richard Arens, who co-owns the bar in Joel Street with his cousin Chris Arens, said: "As a way of showing our support Arens bar will be donating all door entry money this Friday to the Walking Matilda fund.

"Entry costs £5 and we will be charging people from 9pm, half an hour earlier than usual, to raise as much as possible.

"We just wanted to give as much as we could and we hope we can raise a bit of money to help Matilda's fund."

Five-year-old Matilda will be able to have a selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) procedure at Great Ormond Street Hospital after hedge fund Mandara Capital donated £9,000 this morning (Thursday) to push the total to over £40,000 raised since we broke the news of the appeal last week.

It began with Casey asking for £1 from as many people as possible. Mrs Burke said: "We are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity people have shown at this time, the support has been completely amazing."