AN EVENT has been organised to fundraise for a Dorset-based group supporting parents and children with Down's Syndrome.

The organisation, Downright Perfect, is hosting a masquerade ball at the Highcliff Marriott Hotel, on St Michael's Road, on Saturday, March 26, from 7pm, which is open to everyone.

Clare Frankland, a trustee of the group, who has a two-year-old daughter, Neive, who has Downs's Syndrome, said: "We support all children in Dorset with Down's Syndrome and their families, which is predominantly those aged under five."

She said that the children benefit from music, physical activity and language therapy to help them learn to speak, as well as practical and emotional support for the families in an informal environment.

Funds from the event, which has a fundraising target of £1,000, will go towards paying for the one-to-one therapy sessions for the children, for which half the cost is currently subsidised. Clare also hopes that there may be some money to help fund the Bags of Hope that the group create, containing information leaflets on Down's Syndrome, to give to new parents of babies with the condition.

"It's especially important for people who have been given a pre-natal diagnosis, of which I think it's around 94-per-cent of pregnancies will end in abortion.

"The hope is that if we can get to people with the prenatal diagnosis, we will speak to them and give them the other side of it, without sugar-coating it."

Down's Syndrome is a genetic condition, which can result in varying levels of learning disability affecting around 775 babies born each year in England and Wales. Down's Syndrome is caused by the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21 in a baby's cells and is not hereditary.

The NHS reports that there is no evidence that anything done before or during pregnancy increases or decreases the risk of having a child with the condition.

Tickets for the masquerade ball cost £50 per person, which includes welcome drinks and a three-course meal with comedy-vocal group 2Fat4That, Viva Las Vegas Casino and Steve Charrett Magic.

For more information, email Clarefrankland@downrightperfect.org