NATASHA Clegg would have been scarred for life without the skills of a North-East burns unit.

Now the Newcastle teenager is backing a campaign to prevent changes to the children's burns service.

If they go ahead, the plans would lead to the most serious cases being transferred to Manchester.

Natasha, then four, received severe facial burns when a can of aerosol paint exploded in a bonfire in 1995.

But, thanks to the expert work of the specialist children's burns unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital, there isn't a trace of her ordeal.

A team of experts has advised the Department of Health that the North-East does not need its own specialist burns service for children.

This could lead to children with very serious burns having to travel hundreds of miles for treatment to places like Manchester and Birmingham.

"I could have been scarred for life. But I haven't got a scar in sight and I'm grateful for that. It is all down to the burns unit and if that closed it would be terrible," said Natasha, now 13, who lives in North Kenton, Newcastle.

Newcastle East and Wallsend MP Nick Brown said: "It would be completely wrong to close the children's burns unit in Newcastle. It would be too far for children to send them to Manchester."

North Durham MP Kevan Jones said: "This is a vital regional facility. I think it is outrageous that seriously-ill children should have to travel to Manchester."

Shirley Alexander, vice-chairwoman of the Newcastle Hospital Trust Patient and Public Involvement Forum, urged people to reject the proposals.

A spokeswoman from the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Strategic Health Authority said the proposals were only in draft form.

The SHA spokeswoman also said that each year only around 13 children are treated by the specialist service.