A teddy bear named Sailor Swift has made a little girl's wish come true.
Isabelle Gregory, who has the life-limiting mitochondrial disease which affects brain function, got to meet Sailor at Liverpool's Albert Dock before he embarks on an exciting odyssey with the Great Britain crew in the Clipper Round the World race on Sunday (August 20).
The teddy is a mascot for the Lily Foundation, a charity which supports children with mitochondrial disease, and will sail with crewman Jon Milne who will be chronicling their adventures on Sailor's own Twitter account.
Five-year-old Isabelle's mum Jemma Gregory, from Kingsway in Chester, said: “Isabelle loved meeting Sailor Swift and seeing the clipper. We had a really interesting tour of the boat and met some of the lovely Great Britain team crew.
“It’s fantastic that Jon has chosen to support The Lily Foundation, and the awareness that Sailor Swift will raise for mitochondrial disease. We can’t wait to follow their journey and plan to go back in 11 months to see Sailor Swift return.”
Their meeting came about after Jemma tweeted Sailor, who swiftly invited the family for a tour of the clipper yacht.
Jon Milne has given up his job to take part in the round the world race and is using his 'adventure of a lifetime' to raise money for the Lily Foundation.
Over eight legs, he will spend about 11 months at sea in a race against 11 other teams and cover 40,000 nautical miles. Crew members need not necessarily have any sailing experience but every clipper comes with a fully qualified skipper.
Follow Sailor Swift’s adventures on Twitter @SailorSwiftBear.
