A MOTHER, desperate to hear the sound of her little boy's voice again, is launching an emotional appeal for help.

Little Matthew Hughes, five, could laugh, speak and sing before being struck down by an illness which attacked his brain.

Now, almost three years later, he is left silent, and in place of his melodious voice, is an agonising, frustrating screech.

The youngster from Rutland Road, Shakerley, Atherton, had been in hospital for more than two months with encephalitis, during which time his life hung in the balance.

His road to recovery was long and hard, with Matthew having to learn everything from scratch.

But today, although much better, his inability to speak, behavioural problems, and difficulties with hearing, leave him in limbo -- the doctors unable to label what is wrong with him.

His mother, Paula, said: "They can not tell me what is wrong with him. They just say 'he is unique'."

One glimmer of hope, however, has come from a specialist at the Leigh Royal Infirmary who suggested pioneering treatment in America, which would culminate with the youngster swimming with Dolphins.

Paula said: "The specialist said that treatment would be ideal for Matthew. It is used for children recovering from brain injuries, incurred through illness or accident.

"But I have no idea how I would go about getting this done. I have never done anything like it before, and would not know where to start.

"What I really need is someone to come forward to help me, to point me in the right direction. Then, if we can get a fundraising appeal off the ground I would hope to attract others to help me organise events and raise the money."

Matthew's illness struck when he was two-years-old. Paula recalled: "It started as a cold for a couple of days, but just got worse and worse. I took him into hospital concerned about his condition, and by the end of the night he was on a life support machine.

"He was two weeks in Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, but suffered a relapse when he came home. He ended up two months in first Bolton and then the children's hospital in Pendlebury.

"Matthew has never fully recovered from it. He looks perfectly normal, but has no speech. He has behavioural problems and screeches a lot. He also suffers from epilepsy. When he first came home from hospital he lay on the floor unable to move. He had to learn everything again. But he still has this final hurdle to overcome.

"He is an intelligent boy and at the moment is in a special language class at Hindley Green. I hope he will eventually be able to get back into the classroom with the rest of the children.Matthew has been very brave. We have no idea whether he can remember being able to speak before he was ill. At that point he was able to speak and sing.

"His illness has been a terrible shock to his two older brothers who have been brilliant to him.

"But now, I would do anything to be able to hear his voice again."