MUM-of-two Kara Westerman-Childs has enlisted four friends to join her in a full monty' show to help raise £12,000 for cutting edge treatment for her severely autistic daughter Rosie.

Until she made her first visit to the specialist therapy centre in Florida in March this year, five-year-old Rosie Morris could not understand her parents, say a single word or even feed herself.

But the progress Rosie made in one week convinced her mother and father, Andy Morris, to make a return visit next spring.

To help reach their total, Kara and a quartet of close friends have planned a cheeky four-date tour - inspired by the hit films The Full Monty and Calendar Girls - which includes a modern burlesque type of dance'.

"It will basically be five girls of all shapes and sizes doing a striptease dance until we are all completely bare by the end," said Kara, who put a similar event, though on a smaller scale, last year.

"We were really nervous performing it last year but it was completely exhilarating," she added.

The act will travel to Bristol, London, Brighton and Stroud, which will be on December 16.

The doctors at the American clinic will design a week especially for Rosie, her parents and one of her carers and will produce a final education plan to maximise her progress over the following year.

"We are really excited and we really want to continue giving her this chance in her life but it's so costly," said Kara, who lives in Uplands.

"She progressed more in a week last time than in the previous two years.

"Now she can feed herself with a spoon, drink from a cup, undress, say a few little phrases and build a tower of blocks - all these things are opening up for her.

"And she counted to ten last week which was amazing.

"We are going for funding from the LEA but that takes time and we can't afford to hang around."