Evelyn: a girl in six billion!

And the callous car robbers have now imprisoned four years-old Evelyn Jones (pictured with her mother, Barbara) in her Westleigh home.

Little Evelyn is unique.

She can't walk, nor can she speak. Although she is of school age she is just the size of a toddler.

And she is the only known person in the world - estimated population of 5,845,282,638 (US Population Survey estimate) - suffering from the condition known as Undiagnosed Congenital Syndrome.

One of the side effects is Evelyn is oxygen dependent and to take her out, her mum, Barbara, needs to have a portable oxygen cylinder to hand.

But thieves have stolen the gas bottle, complete with slow-flow meter and a disabled child's buggy, while Mrs Jones's Nissan Micra was in a Bolton town centre car park.

That effectively confined Evelyn to home because the only other cylinder she has isn't portable.

The missing equipment is valued at around £200 but is vital to tiny Evelyn's quality of life.

Evelyn needs apparatus to aid her breathing, virtually all day. She wears both oxygen and feeding pipes straight up her nostrils.

Her mum said: "There have been times when she has been very ill. Six months ago doctors didn't want to continue treatment because she was so ill, but she managed to pull back from the brink."

Evelyn smiled as her mum continued: "Hopefully she's forgotten all about that."

The family still has to make constant trips to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital in Pendlebury, where she is treated by surgeon Adrian Bianchi, who treated little Laura Davies.

This week kind-hearted donors offered replacement oxygen equipment and hopefully Evelyn will soon be back at Mayfield Special School in Chorley.

Anyone with any information about the stolen items can ring Mrs. Jones on 0161 856 5626, or contact the Journal on 01942 670669.

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