STAFF from Aviva in York have rallied round in support of a colleague whose daughter has a chromosome condition so rare that it doesn't have a name.

Colleagues of Emma Thompson staged a 'dawn til dusk' tennis marathon in Rowntree Park in a bid to raise £1,000 for Unique, a charity which has helped her since she discovered Ellouise was one of only nine people in the world known to suffer from ‘3p26.3-25.3 deletion.'

Emma, of Newton Upon Derwent, told The Press in August how the known potential complications of the condition included heart defects, kidney and bowel issues, speech problems, sight and hearing issues, feeding problems, cognitive development and degeneration issues.

She said the family’s only source of information and support had been Unique, which had shared medical research with them and put them in touch with the other families.

She said today that the family was set to smash its £5,000 fundraising target thanks to the tennis marathon.

She said it had reached £3,500 before today, thanks to plans by her cycling-mad Aunt Allison to take part in a 100-mile bike ride last month, called Velo South. The ride was called off because of bad weather but she now planned to take part in a similar one next year.

Aviva said it would match fund the £1,000 which the players were set to raise, taking the total to about £5,500.