A four-year-old girl has been able to meet Santa properly for the first time, thanks to a volunteer elf trained in sign language.

Emily, from Goole, East Yorkshire, is profoundly deaf and had been let down four times by grotto attractions which promised a British Sign Language (BSL) service.

Her brother’s school had heard about their struggles and took to social media to search for an interpreter for their festive fair.

Mum Tanya said: “It was just really magical.”

Emily met Father Christmas with brother Hugo, six, at Airmyn Park Primary on Thursday.

Acting as interpreter was Holly the Elf – real name Melanie Boyeson – who had responded to the school’s appeal by volunteering to help.

Tanya said on four previous occasions she had booked grotto visits elsewhere which had promised a signing service.

Each time they had been left disappointed, with interpreters either not provided or unable to sign correctly.

Tanya had posted online about Emily’s past let-downs, prompting Hugo’s head teacher and the wider school community to search for someone willing to act as a BSL interpreter at their school fair.

Head teacher Natalie Dodds said: “Emily is part of our extended school community so we really wanted her to feel the magic and for mum to not have to interpret for her.”

‘Community spirit’

Tanya said Emily had become accustomed to grottos where Santa and his elves could not talk to her.

She said: “She felt this time it was going to be the same, but it wasn’t. Her face lit up.”

Santa and his elf helper chatted to Emily about the presents she hoped to get in her stocking.

Tanya said her daughter, who attends Doncaster School for the Deaf, had been a little shy at first but Melanie had been very encouraging, finding out that she would like a doll with pram and a blue dragon.

Tanya thanked all those who had helped to make the magical moment happen.

She said: “It’s such community spirit. People were rallying around to try to provide this for someone they didn’t even know.”

She said the family also attended Hull Deaf Centre’s Christmas party every year, which had a performance by a signing Santa.

However, she called on more attractions to include BSL interpreters for deaf children or parents.

“Everyone should be treated equally,” she said.

Fiance’s shock at bride-to-be’s walk down aisle at East Yorkshire wedding

A bride with a rare disorder affecting her mobility surprised her husband-to-be by walking down the aisle on their wedding day in East Yorkshire.

Carrie Redhead, 27, was born with the digestive condition intestinal lymphangiectasia, or Waldmann’s disease, which causes the loss of special proteins from sufferers’ intestines.

Two years ago her condition deteriorated, leaving her having to use a wheelchair.

But at their wedding ceremony in Faxfleet in October, her fiance, Joel Redhead, had no idea she was determined to walk down the aisle.

With a video of Mrs Redhead’s walk having now been viewed online millions of times, she says she wants to inspire and empower people facing similar situations.

A university student has been recognised as one of the most influential disabled people in the UK.

Lucinda Ritchie, a final year student at the University of Southampton, was a finalist in the national Disability Power 100 awards for her pioneering work supporting communication using eye movement.

The 31-year-old communicates using a piece of technology that detects eye movement through a camera or tracker.

She has been recognised for her work as an ambassador for a charity called SpecialEffect, where she helps to test, refine, demonstrate and advocate Eye Gaze Technology.

Disability Power 100 is an initiative by the Shaw Trust that recognises and celebrates the 100 most influential and trailblazing people in the country with a disability.

Ms Ritchie was one of 10 national finalists in the digital and tech category.

She said: “I feel so happy to be a finalist, I still can’t believe it.

“It’s an honour to be recognised alongside other pioneers and changemakers.

“I’m also looking forward to continuing to contribute to this area of supporting people with disabilities to communicate.”

She emphasised the importance of the technology, explaining that it had enabled her “to study, take part in meetings, talk with friends, and have independence”.

TV presenter, campaigner and businesswoman Dr Shani Dhanda, who was named in the number one spot, said: “I really hope that non-disabled people are taking note and stop having low expectations of us, because we are flipping amazing!”