Mellanie Holloway is fed up with strangers staring or making jibes about the distinct birthmark on her daughter's forehead.

She has even mistakenly been accused of battering Courteney, two, by a woman who saw the mark.

Now she has decided to speak out in the hope of bringing a greater understanding of Courteney's condition, known as a strawberry haemangioma.

Mrs Holloway, of The Drive, Hove, says she is subjected to looks of disgust and shock almost every time she takes Courteney out.

She said she has even seen adults comment to each other about her daughter.

This is distressing for Mrs Holloway and her husband Stephen but their biggest fear is that Courteney will develop a complex about her looks.

Mrs Holloway, a practice manager for a firm of solicitors, plans to launch a support group for other families in Sussex whose children have the same kind of birthmark.

Medical experts say the psychological trauma suffered by a child with a disfiguring haemangioma is immense because a child develops self-awareness at 18 to 24 months of age.

Mrs Holloway said the trauma was made worse by the ignorance of the public.

She said two weeks ago when she was in a supermarket, a checkout operator was so distracted by staring at Courteney's birthmark that she stopped serving.

She said: "I'm so worried about what the effect of all these people staring at Courteney is going to have on her.

"I've had one lady asking me what I have done to my child, which is a shocking thing to ask a mother.

"If people asked politely what the mark was I would tell them. It's not something to be ashamed about.

"Courteney is not silly, she is aware of people staring at her.

"We have told her she is a special girl and she has got a special mark.

"When she was born it was a tiny little pin prick and it was bright red, but then it grew for the first year into a lump.

"My main worry is what will happen when she starts school because you know how nasty school children can be.

"It makes no difference to her health at all but if she were to knock it then it could burst and it would bleed and it would be difficult to stop it. So she has to be careful."

One in ten children develop haemangiomas, but they generally appear on the back of the head or neck where they are more concealed.

The marks eventually disappear of their own accord, but can last from two to 12 years.

Surgery is available but there is a risk an operation could leave a scar.

Parents also have to weigh up the pros and cons of putting their child through intensive plastic surgery and whether the trauma would be worse than dealing with the birthmark.

The Holloway family has decided not to put Courteney through surgery but Mrs Holloway said she hoped a support group would bring together children with the same condition.

She said: "I know there are more children in this area who have this, so it would be good to get together with other parents and talk to each other.

"No one should have to go through this kind of distress on their own."

Mrs Holloway can be contacted on 01273 325494.