road to a full recovery.

Derik Dill's hip joint was crushed when she was run over by a taxi at Shelly Bay Park in Hamilton Parish, in August last year.

But after receiving treatment for her cartilage on the Island and in the United States, it looks as though the four-year-old will be able to walk like any other child.

The youngster will still have to be x-rayed every six months to ensure the cartilage continues to grow properly, but so far the signs are good.

Derik's mother Angela told The Royal Gazette : "I am very happy with her progress because back then we didn't know what was going on.

"She's got her scars, but that's to be expected. I just wish I knew for sure that she's going to be fine because we don't know what's going to happen further down the line.

"She's tickled pink because she gets to do her exercises and she's not held back in any way. With long-distance walking though she gets a little uncomfortable.'' Friends, family and strangers have rallied round to pay for Derik's treatment at the Children's Hospital and nearby University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Mrs. Dill, of Friswell's Lane, Pembroke, is still angry that Police have not prosecuted Eugene Bean, the taxi driver who knocked down her daughter. Police originally said Mr. Bean could not be prosecuted because the accident did not take place on a public highway.

They later decided the accident, which took place in an area restricted for emergency vehicles, could be investigated but found there was not enough evidence to go to court, even though Mr. Bean admitted he knocked over the child.

Mrs. Dill said: "Police said they could not charge him because it was outside their jurisdiction. I've got used to it and there's nothing I can do about it, but it still doesn't make it right.'' She said her daughter still has psychological scars and was afraid of going to Shelly Bay.

"Every time anyone mentions Shelly Bay she says `I don't want to go there because the taxi driver will run me over again'.

"As long as we are not at that area of the Island she is OK. She had difficult days and difficult moods.''