Dreams came true for 200 sick, seriously ill and disadvantaged children specially selected to go on a luxury holiday to Florida.

British youngsters on the annual Dreamflight charity trip to the Sunshine State visited SeaWorld, Universal Studios and Disney's Blizzard Beach during their 10-day trip.

As a final treat, the children were able to swim with dolphins at Discovery Cove - providing many with the opportunity of a lifetime.

The holiday, now in its 28th year, again relied on a team of medical staff, volunteers and chaperones to cater for their young holidaymakers' every need.

Maya Coates, 14, from East Lothian, suffers with spinal difficulties. She said: "I get a lot of back pain and I have to be careful with what I do.

"I've never been to another country without my family, so I was very happy to come here.

"I was anxious about, 'What if my back plays up?', 'What if', but I was super excited and it has been brilliant. Everyone here as been really reassuring and worked around us all. I've been made to feel I can do everything."

Wheelchair-bound Maisy Gallagher-Horwood, 10, from Oxford, said: "We swam with dolphins and to be honest it gave me a face full of salt water. But I think it's the best thing I'll ever do. The dolphins beat everything."

Long-time celebrity patron Charlie Dimmock, who rose to fame on television garden show Ground Force, said: "It is fantastic to see how the children change, I've been doing this for 15 years and I've been hooked ever since."

Ms Dimmock, an escort on the trip, said: "It must be a huge shock for the parents. For some of the children they are a bit nervous, often it's the first time they've been away.

"But as time goes on, they meet other children and they chat about their problems. They get to do things they don't get to do at home and their confidence just grows."

The whole trip costs around £800,000 and covers everything from a chartered jet to three meals a day.