A BRAVE Bolton girl is flying high after being told she will have a date with Santa this weekend after all.

But a planned group trip to Lapland may still not get off the ground as organisers face a race against time to find enough thermal lined boots to keep feet warm and dry in temperatures of minus 30C.

Katie Power, aged 11, who underwent surgery earlier this year to correct her disfigured feet, was heartbroken when she was told a booking blunder meant she and her family would not be able to go on a trip to Lapland on Sunday.

The trip for the 12 special Bolton youngsters and their families had been organised by Katie's mum Alison and aunt Mandy Heron.

A total of 73 places had been booked through a local travel agent which recently closed, but Alison was horrified when she was told by Oxford-based tour operators Transun that they had a record of only 68 places and the 180 seat aircraft was already full.

Alison had to make the agonising decision to tell her family that they would not be going.

But local ABTA spokesman Andrew Dickson heard about the plight of the group and contacted the managing director of Transun personally to ask if anything could be done. The company spent the weekend trying to find a bigger aircraft and succeeded in chartering a bigger 233 seat aeroplane instead, allowing the Power family to go on the trip after all.

"Transun deserve praise for taking that decision because they didn't need to as the bookings don't seem to have been made," said Mr Dickson.

"Everybody is over the moon," said Alison. The group only discovered this week that the hire does not include fur lined thermal boots of the kind worn by skiers. Alison is now urging readers to search their wardrobes and find boots which they can lend to people in the group for the trip.

Anyone who can help can contact Alison on Bolton 841278 or Mandy on 848636.