An eight-year-old double transplant patient is spearheading a new fundraising campaign to combat Britain's biggest inherited killer disease.

Sonny Lang, from Tadcaster, teamed up with British Gas and the AA to launch a £150,000 appeal for cystic fibrosis sufferers in Yorkshire.

Her mother, Anna, 35, said today that Sonny had been an inspiration to her family after winning two gold medals at an inter-club gymnastics competition.

Mrs Lang also revealed that her only daughter would have to undergo another operation next month when surgeons would take lung biopsies in the hope of beating repeated chest infections.

The operation will be carried out at London's Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital where in 1997 Sonny became Britain's youngest cystic fibrosis patient to undergo a heart and lung transplant.

The Tadcaster East Primary School pupil then became a life-saver herself after giving her 'old heart' to a billionaire's son with six hours to live.

Cystic fibrosis, which currently has no cure, attacks the lungs and digestive system.

This week Sonny joined staff from British Gas and the AA to launch their Breathing Life partnership to raise money for treatment and research.

The life expectancy for victims is only around 30 years.

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust says medical researchers have now identified the faulty gene which causes the disease and are hopeful they will be able to repair or replace the faulty gene.

It could then be treated like asthma, a condition that people are able to live with.

But for Sonny, of Eastfield Walk, Tadcaster, the daily battle goes on.

She takes 50 tablets a day plus intravenous antibiotics and artificial enzymes with all her food.

Mrs Lang said: "We were told the transplant would last about ten years. Sonny will definitely make it into her teens - after that, we haven't a clue how long she's going to live. It's horrendous.

"Sonny won't give up the fight, but she has been dogged by chest infections since Christmas, which we hope doctors will be able to treat after the biopsies are taken next month."

Sonny won her two gold medals while competing for Wetherby Girls Gymnastics Club.

Says Mrs Lang: "We are so proud of her. When we're feeling a bit down, she's an inspiration to us all."

Updated: 08:56 Tuesday, May 29, 2001