SHE cannot speak, she has spent most of her life in intensive care and she will soon go on a waiting list for a heart and lung transplant.

But three-year-old Shauna Davison overcame her severe health problems at the weekend to become a bridesmaid at a wedding near York.

Shauna performed the honours alongside four other girls when Emily Augey was married to Terry Myers at Skelton Parish Church.

Emily's mother Maureen, of Skelton, came to know Shauna through her work as a paediatric nurse looking after the youngster in intensive care. Emily, of Middlesbrough, came to visit Shauna on the ward and became her friend and, when she got engaged, she decided to ask the little girl to be her bridesmaid.

Maureen said everyone had been proud of Shauna's performance on the big day.

"She did really well and even managed to keep going until about 8pm," she said.

"Shauna looked like a typical bridesmaid by the end of it all - shoes caked with mud and a crumpled dress - but she thoroughly enjoyed herself. We are all really proud of her."

Shauna has only just returned home from a spell in hospital. She will go on to a waiting list for the transplants next month.