A BRAVE little girl, with the voice of an angel, has beaten the odds and recorded a CD which is being tipped to be a hit at Christmas.

And now determined eight-year-old Rachael Prest is hoping one day to fulfil her ambition, and to sing a duet with chart-topper Celine Dion.

In 1995 Rachael, without warning, went blind during a dream holiday to Disney's Magic Kingdom in Florida.

The youngster's world was plunged into permanent darkness by an illness which had plagued her since birth.

As a youngster Rachael, pictured sporting the traditional Christmas hat and tinsel, was constantly in and out of hospital.

And today her last visual memory is of meeting her cartoon character heroes Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.

Rachael, of Bradshaw Avenue, Whitefield, had her left eye removed when she was three. But she was still able to carry on playing with her friends on her roller skates.

But on the first night of that fateful trip to Disney she lost her sight completely when her retina became detached.

Rachael, her mum Wendy, who was pregnant at the time, and dad Gordon had to cut short their holiday and return home.

At first Rachael was angry and emotional but today her mum says her young daughter just gets on with life.

"She accepts it," said Wendy. "Sometimes she asks me what it's like to see but she gets on with it. She says being blind is boring. But she makes the most of her life and is a happy little girl."

Poignantly, Rachael has never seen her two-year-old sister Emily.

But with the help she has received from family, friends and St Vincent's School for the Blind in Liverpool, where she has been a pupil since she was four, Rachael now takes joy from her life, especially from singing and playing karate. She practises her karate at the Rising Sun in Bury New Road, Prestwich.

And her mum says that Rachael never stops singing. "She could sing before she could talk. She sings from morning until night."

One highlight in Rachael's life came two years ago when she met the pop diva Celine Dion, backstage at the Nynex Arena in Manchester.

Wendy recalls: "Celine cuddled her and kissed her and said that one day, perhaps, they would sing together. Rachael's never forgot that.'

And now Rachael has put her angelic voice to good use on a charity CD "Who Is He", featuring Europe's top brass band, fellow pupils from St Vincent's, and a host of top TV celebrities. The recording, which lasts more than 20 minutes, is set to be released on November 16.

As well as Yorkshire Building Society Brass Band, the CD's promoters have managed to secure the services of Jean Alexander, for ever famous as Coronation Street's Hilda Ogden, Susannah York, David Suchet, Alan Titmarsh and John Nettles.

Without doubt, however, the real stars are Rachael and 12-year-old Daniel McGrath from Doncaster, both pupils at St Vincent's.

With the help of choristers of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral the two youngsters are at the centre of a CD which evokes the spirit of Christmas.

"Who is He" is a touching piece showing the talents of Rachael and Daniel. Also included is a brass arrangement of "Away in a Manger", performed by Yorkshire Building Society Brass Band - European Champions for the past two years. There is also a musical comedy where the actors play various roles, and David Suchet narrates the poem, "The Stables", written by the blind poet Margaret Buckle, who died last year.

All the money raised from the sale of the CD will be shared between children at St Vincent's, the Royal School for the Blind and to United Trusts, the Liverpool-based charity which dreamt up the idea of a Christmas CD.

Anyone wishing to order a copy of the CD should call the hotline on 0990 22 44 22. Postage and packing is free, lines open 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.