A local charity has helped a three-year-old girl’s family make lasting memories before she loses her sight completely in the next year.

Savannah-May Collister was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis at the age of one, meaning she has tumours on her optic nerves causing her sight to deteriorate. She also has a number of other disabilities.

Charity Sight Matters turned her family’s garden in Castletown into a winter wonderland, putting up Christmas decorations and doing a grand switch on last week.

Castletown Silver Band played carols, local company Nampak donated a hamper and gifts for the children, and Savannah-May even got a visit from Father Christmas himself.

Savannah-May’s mum Suzanne was ‘really pleased’ with the event.

She said on Friday at the switch-on: ‘I think she deserves it. She’s had a rough life so far and if I can make it just that little bit happier before she loses her sight then, why not?

‘I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without Sight Matters and the help they’ve all given me.

‘Between Sight Matters and my family it’s all come together. I’d probably still be putting the Christmas decorations up if they hadn’t turned up to help me.

‘It’s amazing and she’ll be out here every day playing with the lights. She loves Christmas lights and she loved the band.

‘The thing is that everything here can be touched, that’s how we designed it.

‘There’s nothing here that she can’t touch and play with whether it’s raining or sunny. That is the idea, she can come out, she can sit with her head on the lights and play with the lights.’

She explained that Savannah-May has ‘no understanding’ as she has severe autism and is registered blind.

‘She just knows there’s lots of people in her garden and there’s pretty lights,’ Suzanne said. ‘She’s non-verbal, so you look for things like dancing or standing still or the squeezing of the hands.

‘By next Christmas she will either be completely blind or have minimal sight. If she does have sight it will only be things up close.

‘The tumours have damaged the optic nerves to the point where her eyes will continue to deteriorate.

‘Even if the tumours have stopped growing, the eyes will still get worse, which is why we’ve done all this.

‘We were in contact with Sight Matters anyway because they come down and see Savannah and they have a role in her life.

‘Savannah’s life is not cheap so we asked if they could help and put some Christmas decorations up.’

Cathryn Bradley, the social welfare and inclusion lead at Sight Matters, called the event ‘magical’.

She said: ‘It’s emotional to see her reaction and see her able to play and enjoy. Her dancing along to Jingle Bells really was magical and emotional.

‘Savannah-May has been one of our members for a number of months.

‘We haven’t been able to offer her the traditional services we normally would because of her health conditions but her mum contacted us because with Savannah unlikely to have any sight at all in the near future, she wanted to make this Christmas a truly magical one.

‘We bought the decorations and the team at the prison, who we work with as part of its resettlement scheme, set it all up.

‘I think it’s been quite special and I hope that the family have got the memories that they want.

‘I don’t think we’ve ever done anything like this to this scale but we do different things because our service is bespoke to the individual so we do provide what would be in the best interests of that individual.

‘We deal with challenging circumstances and I’m not sure we always recognise what it really can be like.

‘This may not even offer respite but just a little bit of fun in what can be a complex situation for the parents as well.

‘It’s not just about the children, it’s about the families.’

A prisoner resettlement work party installed the lights, trees, reindeer, and an inflatable gingerbread man.

Supervising officer Ant Rogan added: ‘We came down first thing on the morning and five prisoners who were out on supervised licence spent the full day here getting it ready.

‘To see it all finished is brilliant because when we did it, it was daylight so seeing it all lit up, it looks fabulous.

‘Just to see Savannah’s face when she came out, that’s what it’s all about.’