PRAYERS read in churches in a Northern dale have helped the recovery of an Australian schoolgirl whose life was hanging by a thread.

At the same time family and friends of 14-year-old Johanna Elms prayed for her in her home town of Gosford, New South Wales, in Ireland, the United States, Uruguay and other parts of the world.

The inspiration for the 24-hour worldwide cycle of prayer came from Penny Jones, who emigrated to Australia with her family nine months ago. She was formerly rural dean at Stanhope, in Weardale, County Durham.

Johanna's mother, Alison, a nurse, said from her home in Gosford: "It was the right medical treatment which eventually saved my daughter but without the power of prayer from people all over the world there is no doubt she would not have survived.

"Johanna says it was only the strength of these prayers that kept her going."

The teenager was taken ill after injuring her head in a fall playing basketball at school.

She went from a healthy, active child who danced four times per week, played basketball and sailed to a frail, delicate child who was unable to sit or eat.

Johanna missed two terms of school and was deteriorating week by week.

For months doctors could not diagnose what was wrong with her and she started to waste away. It was finally discovered that Johanna had a bowel infection and the illness was thwarted with powerful antibiotics.

Johanna is still very frail but managing to attend school four days a week.

Mrs Jones said: "Johanna was a very, very sick girl."

Through contacts the ex-pat vicar had in England and those the Elms family had in other parts of the world, prayers were said for Johanna one Sunday, and because of the round-the-world nature of the contacts, someone was praying for Johanna at every hour of every day.

The effect was immediate.

"The next day, just 24 hours later, she had started to recover," said Mrs Jones. "It was a wonderful thing."

In Weardale, the prayers were organised by Sheila Foster, church warden at St Thomas's Church in Stanhope.

In a thank-you letter to the people of the Durham dale, Johanna says: "My whole family and I were deeply touched when we heard what was being arranged in prayers. We will continue to hold the memory of this in our hearts for ever."