TWO Pershore High pupils have been invited by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, to attend a ceremony in Trafalgar Square to see the unveiling of a sculpture of their cousin, Alison Lapper.

Alexandra and Rosie Mason were due to travel to London today with their family to celebrate the unveiling of the sculpture crafted by Marc Quinn for the Fourth Plinth.

Alison Lapper was born with a rare chromosomal disorder, which is not unlike thalidomide. Alison did not have any arms and has only very short legs. She refers to her condition as: "limb deficiency".

Alison is known as a remarkable lady in many respects. She has coped with her disability put herself through university raised a perfectly healthy son, established a successful career as a talented artist and won the respect of many people.

From a very early age, she attended Chailey Heritage School, a residential home for the severely disabled, where she would stay until she was 18 years old. At the time, Chailey Heritage was regarded as a centre of excellence for the care of the seriously handicapped.

The artist who is fiercely independent and refuses to wear any form of prosthetic limb.

Alison's uncle, Nick Mason said: "Alison is a very determined person despite being severely disabled she has managed to achieve so much, which makes me very proud to know her."

"Alexandra and Rosie have both inherited their cousin's talent for Art and Alex has just taken a GCSE examination in Art and achieved an A for it at the age of 15," added Mr Mason.

A sculpture of Alison has won a competition to occupy the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square. The statue was created by sculptor Marc Quinn and features Alison naked and pregnant.

Over the past five years Alison has achieved public recognition as an artist and a champion of the disabled, but it's still being a mother that is the focus of her life.