This is the moment a six-year-old with cerebral palsy shocked her mum by getting in and out of the car by herself for the first time ever.

Determined Lilac Jackson managed the milestone doctors thought she’d never hit - after being told she would always need a wheelchair. Mum-of-three Leila Jackson, 38, told how daughter Lilac had struggled with walking and movement since she was a baby. But she said her daughter had always been determined to overcome her challenges.

Lilac, from Cheltenham, Glos, shocked her family on Monday May 24.

Leila, a communications assistant, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw her – getting into and out of the car is such a simple thing people take for granted, but that was six years in the making for Lilac.

"It's such a huge milestone for her.

“At a year old, we were told she’d never walk, but all her life she has been smashing the odds stacked against her - she is so determined to become more and more independent.

"This is a huge step forward for her and we are so, so proud of her and how far she has come."