Plenty of 10-year-olds dream of going to Lapland, but it becomes the reality for very few of them.

Caitlin Inns joined the lucky minority this month after she and her mother Nat were offered a four day trip of a lifetime thanks to a Beckton hospice and a the big-hearted owner of a travel firm.

Richard House Children’s Hospice supports Caitlin’s older sister, 15-year-old Olivia, who has cerebral palsy.

Nat said: “I was out shopping when Richard House called me to let me know about the offer and I was so overwhelmed I had to sit down!

“We have been going through a really tough period with Olivia and her seizures, so the holiday came at the perfect time.

“We were humbled to have been offered the holiday and really grateful.”

The holiday came about thanks to Colchester Travel owner John Bennett, who had two seats available on a Nordic Experience trip and decided to offer them to a family from the hospice.

He said: “Sometimes people don’t realise that the parents and siblings of children at a hospice are tied down in what they can do.

“It’s nice to have the chance to add a little something special and offer an experience to a family that will have a really lasting impact.”

The hospice also provided respite care for Olivia for three of the days to allow the family, from Dagenham, to take advantage offer.

Nat added: “The holiday was amazing, there were so many memorable things but the best was being pulled on a sleigh over the frozen ice by the huskies.

“I thought about where I was a few days before and it was almost unbelievable.”