A TRIUMPHANT Sally Becker flew into Heathrow last night clutching the brave girl from Kosovo whose sight she hopes to save.

Walking in hand-in-hand with three-year-old Marigona Krasniqui, the exhausted aid worker sighed and exclaimed: "At last."

Marigona, who was granted a UK visa last week, will now undergo emergency treatment for suspected cataracts in her right eye at Hove's Nuffield Hospital.

For Sally, 38, her arrival marks the end of a dramatic seven-month quest to find homes and treatment for 51 sick and wounded child refugees.

But despite breaking off her crusade to have her own baby, Sally is vowing to return to the war zone afterwards if she is still needed.

Holding Marigona and her teddy bear in her arms, she said the first stop for the little girl would be McDonald's, adding: "I feel great relief.

"This is the end of my seven-month mission. Marigona was one of the first children I found. Now she's the last to find treatment.

"I'm taking a break now, but Kosovo is still not free yet, and I always said I wouldn't stop until Kosovo was free.

"I will always keep speaking out for Kosovo, and when I'm fit and well again I will help them in whatever way I'm asked to."

Asked whether hhe thought there was a chance she might never have to return to Albania after the birth of her baby in five months' time, she added: "Hopefully. It would be nice to think that the aid workers will all be able to go home.

"Things are looking more hopeful at the moment, although we've heard the Serbs are not happy about the idea of having international troops on the ground there."

Sally and Marigona arrived at Heathrow flanked by Albanian translator Arben Miloti and former BBC presenter Mike Mendoza.

Mr Mendoza, who has been in Northern Albania since Monday making a documentary about Sally, said: "I couldn't believe the reaction towards Sally from ministers out there and people from the UNHCR

"The families living there seemed so fond of her too. When she left, Marigona's parents burst into tears."

He added: "In other ways, it was the worst week of my life. There's no electricity or water out there. It's like the armpit of the world."

When Albanian doctors found they did not have the equipment needed to treat Marigona's eye, she was offered an operation in Moscow.

But when war broke out in Kosovo the surgery was cancelled and award-winning Sussex specialist Christopher Liu stepped in instead.

Having initially been refused a British visa, Marigona was finally granted one by Home Secretary Jack Straw last Friday.

Marigona, who is staying with Sally and her partner, Dr Duncan Stewart at their home in Withdean, Brighton, is likely to have surgery on Monday.

When she flies back home in two weeks' time, she and her parents, who are staying at the refugee centre in Shkodra, will be evacuated to the Czech Republic.

The other 50 children for whom Sally has been trying to find refuge and hospital treatment are now being looked after in the Czech Republic and America.

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