NO-ONE could accuse Beata Farkas of lacking spirit - the determined youngster has suffered more in her seven years than many people do in a lifetime. But that has not stopped her enjoying a quick ride on her new bicycle.

After being born with a rare disability affecting her joints, Beata was abandoned by her parents and sent from one austere Romanian institution to another.

She spent the first three years of her life in orphanages, where she passed most of her days trapped in a cot. The only stimulation she had was from the other 350 orphans around her, most suffering from learning difficulties.

But then, three years ago, the arrival of a group of charity workers at the orphanage in Transylvania changed Beata's life.

Peter Brady, aged 47, of Cleveland Close, Thornbury, near Bristol, spotted Beata, now known as Betty, when she was being carried by one of the orphanage staff and he was struck by her fantastic smile.

He was told how she had been abandoned after her father had refused to believe she could be his because she was disabled.

Betty captured Mr Brady's heart, and he raised enough money through the charity Holding Out Hope to fly her to Bristol for a life-changing operation.

Betty suffers from arthrogryposis, a condition which affects about one in every 3,000 births, which means she has little or no movement in her joints.

The original plan was for Betty to come to Britain to have the operation and then return to Romania.

But she had started thinking of the Bradys as her family, and when she began to call Mr Brady "daddy," it was impossible to let her go. Mr Brady and his wife Clare went on to start the long process of adoption.

Nearly two years later the Bradys are still fighting the legal battle.

Mr Brady said: "It is a long, frustrating process. You get to the point when you wonder if it will ever happen.

"But the only alternative for Betty would be for her to be back in an institution in a cot. We don't want that to happen.

"After she called me daddy it was almost impossible to send her back again. Now we love her as much as our other three girls."

Lucy, aged 12, Jessica, ten, and Emily, nine, have accepted Betty as a sister. But the Bradys have a long fight ahead as the adoption process becomes increasingly complicated.

The delay in finalising the legal adoption has caused the family continuous heartache.

They plan to go on holiday to France next week but the French Embassy has refused to issue Betty with a visa because all the legal adoption papers are not available.

"I spent all day queuing in the embassy to be told there was nothing they could do without the correct paperwork," said Mr Brady.

"I said they were forcing me to leave a seven-year-old little girl at home while we went on holiday and the official just shrugged.

"Betty has been in tears - she knows it is because she hasn't been adopted yet." Yet, despite all the legal problems, Betty is doing well. She is succeeding at school in Thornbury, and is fiercely independent. Betty's adopted family has tried hard to keep her in touch with her Romanian origins, but it is not easy.

"When people speak of her keeping hold of her culture it is hard to know what culture they mean," said Mr Brady. "All she had experience of was a cot in an orphanage full of 350 other orphans."

Meanwhile, thanks to the dedicated work of REMAP, a charity that provides one-off technical aids to help disabled people enjoy a better lifestyle, Betty is enjoying her first chance to join her friends and family on a bicycle ride.

REMAP operates through 1,500 volunteers who offer their time and skills to the charity to make aids that are not available over the counter.

Bruce Lee, of REMAP, has been working on Betty's bike. He said: "When we see Betty's face when she gets on her new bike, it is great feeling." If you are an engineer with some spare time to help REMAP's work call Trisha Kitt on 0117 979