The family of a baby girl are raising funds to help pay for equipment to correct the uneven shape of her head.

Michaela Dowell, like many babies, was born with an irregular-shaped skull which, in most cases, corrects itself.

But eight months on and with no sign of improvement, mum Jenny Davies, 32 of The Whaddons, Huntingdon, looked into what could be done.

She heard about a corrective helmet, known as a LOCBand, named after its maker, the London Orthotic Consultancy, which has a clinic in Cambridge.

“The NHS does not do it because it cannot say for sure that the helmet will correct it,” said Jenny.

“But once they are a certain age there’s nothing that can be done, so we thought it was worth a try.”

The headgear, which costs nearly £2,000, is worn for just a few hours at first, building up to much longer periods. “It takes about three to four months to work, but can be longer,” said Jenny. “It’s very light, and Michaela naps in it, no problem.”

To cover some of the cost, about £950, Jenny aims to raise funds by doing a car boot sale at Wood Green, Godmanchester, on March 8. A fundraiser is also planned at the Three Tuns in Huntingdon. Any extra funds will be donated to Headstart4Babies, a charity raising awareness of misshaped skull conditions in babies.

INFORMATION: For more on the charity, visit www.headstart4babies.org.