SCHOOLGIRL Thara Khan suffers from a serious heart condition — but it has not stopped her caring for her autistic brother.

It has been a tough few years for the Khan family, from Radcliffe, and now 11-year-old Thara has been recognised for her hard work.

The former Gorsefield Primary School pupil, who now attends Bolton Muslim School, received the SPD Trust prize for human deeds at a school assembly on Friday.

Thara was born with Pulmonary Stenosis which means her heart cannot pump blood around her body properly.

In January 2006, she had to take six weeks off school to undergo surgery and a balloon was placed inside one of her heart valves to control the direction of blood flow.

For the last three years, she has struggled to walk due to a viral infection in her legs and received home tuition for six months.

Mum Nighath Khan, of Robertson Street, said: “She can’t go shopping or walk around for too long because of the pain. It has been very difficult for her just to move around the house.”

Despite her health problems, Thara has found the courage to help look after her brother Hakeem, aged five, who has autism.

Mrs Khan continued: “Hakeem needs attention all the time and he wants to play with Thara but he doesn’t understand she is ill. She gets very stressed.

“We are very proud of her. Even though she is ill she has looked after her brother, carried on with her education and helped me around the house and with getting Hakeem to school.”

Thara added: “I was really shocked to win the award because I just thought it was a normal assembly. I feel very proud.”