When Linda Scotson's son, Doran, was born with cerebral palsy she began a 21-year crusade to find out all she could about his condition.

The artist from Forest Row, near East Grinstead, was determined to find a treatment which could help him.

Now she believes she has stumbled across an effective treatment, pioneered in Russia, which she says markedly improves quality of life for people with brain injuries.

Linda took Doran to Moscow for three weeks of physical therapy. Afterwards his abilities improved and she now wants to bring the treatment to Britain.

Called Advanced Neuromotor Rehabilitation (ANR), it was pioneered by Dr Eugeny Blyum at the International University in Moscow.

It is based on the principle that enhancing blood flow, with oxygen and nutrition, to the otherwise 'sleeping' brain and muscle tissue can gradually restore lost ability in people with brain injuries.

As founder of East Grinstead-based charity the Hyperbaric Oxygen Trust, which provides oxygen therapy to brain injury victims, she is uniquely positioned to do just that. Until now, all she needed was the funding.

But thanks to an anonymous benefactor - believed to be a Greek businessman and friend of a family helped by the trust - nine youngsters, plus Doran, will spend alternate months either in Moscow or in a centre set up by Dr Blyum in Turkey.

The rehabilitation process will be meticulously recorded over a year, starting in October, and information gathered during the research will be brought back to East Grinstead.

Linda, 55, said: "These children were thought to be incurable.

"Their problems embrace almost every variant of neurological disorder but the degree of improvement in their abilities during a pilot project was so marked that this man agreed to help us.

"Doran's quality of life has improved immensely since he had three weeks' treatment last year.

"His language skills have developed from hardly being able to speak to being able to hold a reasonable conversation.

"His vision is better, he has put on weight after being impossibly thin and his mobility has improved."

Linda's daughter, Lili, 23, has taken a year off before going to college to study social work.

She will travel with the youngsters and their families to support them.

Linda has been trying to find out more about her son's condition since his birth. She has written two books about his development and the effects on the family of having a disabled child.

Soon she built up a network of friends who were in a similar situation and gained more and more information.

After hearing about the positive effects of using hyperbaric oxygen chambers for people with brain injuries, she set up the Hyperbaric Oxygen Trust (HOT) five years ago. The charity, originally run from Linda's home and rented rooms in Forest Row, raised enough money to buy two oxygen chambers.

She said: "Before I set up the charity I knew what was wrong with the present treatments on offer but I couldn't offer anything to make that leap for the children towards a more normal life."

A fund-raising campaign helped raise more than £200,000 needed to build a permanent home for the charity.

It opened a treatment centre in Station Road, East Grinstead, in June.

It will be officially launched as the Centre for Advanced Neuromotor Rehabilitation in September, when Dr Blyum's son, Leonid, arrives to direct his father's physical therapy programme at the clinic.

A talented Russian nutritionist has also been employed to complement the programme of treatment.

Anyone who would like to find out more about HOT or ANR, or who would like to help the Trust with its fund-raising, can call 01342 311137.