SCHOOLGIRL Amy Morris is about to realise her dream of being a carnival queen just three years after having a heart transplant.

The 12-year-old spent the first nine years of her life in and out of hospital with a rare heart defect.

But now she is fighting fit and ready to enjoy the moment she will be crowned junior carnival queen at Westhoughton Carnival tomorrow.

The Westhoughton High School pupil has glittering jewellery and a new, cream-coloured dress to make her stand out from the crowd.

She will take part in the carnival parade, which will set off from outside The White Horse Tavern, in Bolton Road, at noon.

And her sister, Danielle, aged 10, is proving the perfect lady in waiting after she was crowned carnival princess last year.

Amy said: "My sister's been teaching me the curtsey.

"It felt really good when I heard I'd got it. It's a great achievement.

"I crowned the carnival royalty two years ago so I'm really looking forward to being crowned myself now."

Amy, who lives in Stanley Close, Westhoughton, was given her life-saving heart transplant in October, 2003, following an eight-month wait at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in Pendlebury, where she was kept alive on a cocktail of drugs while waiting for a donor to become available.

She has since ridden a rollercoaster for the first time, on her 11th birthday last year, and turned on the Westhoughton town centre Christmas lights in 2004.

Her mother, Tracy Morris, said: "She has always wanted to be in the carnival but obviously with her condition we could not guarantee she'd be well enough. She'll be beautiful on the day."

Sarah Hall, aged 15, of Hindley Road, Westhoughton, who is serving as carnival queen for the second year running, is also looking forward to the big day.

She said: "It will be a really good day. I was a rosebud in the carnival when I was five."

Sarah has kept it in the family too, as her grandmother, Janet Watkinson, aged 68, who lives in The Pewfist, Westhoughton, was a carnival queen herself more than 50 years ago.

Mrs Watkinson said: "All the girls and boys involved in the carnival will look beautiful."

Former Coronation Street actress, Casey Lee Jolleys, who played Fred Elliott's Thai bride, Orchid, in the soap, will be special guest at the carnival.

The event will run from 11am to 5pm in Central Park, Westhoughton, and the carnival queens will be crowned by the Mayor and Mayoress of Westhoughton, Cllr George Penny and his wife Carole, at 3pm, while gospel singers and dance troupes entertain the crowds.

The parade will travel along Bolton Road and on to Cricketers Way, Leigh Road, Washacre, Southfield Drive, Wigan Road and Market Street, before turning back on to Bolton Road and finishing in Central Park at about 1.30pm.

Don't miss Monday's Bolton Evening News for full coverage and pictures of the big day.