WHEN Rachel Perry was born in Germany without a right foot nearly 15 years ago, it was not the biggest problem she and her parents had to face.

She had to be flown home for emergency treatment of an intestinal blockage at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and for a while, doctors wrongly suspected she had cystic fibrosis.

"In some ways we didn't have as much trauma over the foot because it wasn't life-threatening," recalled Rachel's mother Penny. "It was a complete surprise. We don't know exactly what caused it, but there was a cluster of cases around the area and we suspect it was linked to Chernobyl."

Now nearly 15, Rachel has never let her disability hold her back. "At seven months, she was walking around the furniture without any problem. She just got on with it," said Penny.

Rachel was fitted with her first silicone foot at Roehampton in Greater London. When she was four, the family moved and she became a patient of the prosthetic centre at St Leonards.

Three years ago, the department relocated to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and is now one of 32 NHS centres around the country taking care of patients who need artificial limbs.

Rachel puts on her foot every morning and it stays in place through suction.

"It has been very much designed around her activities," said Penny. "She does absolutely everything - if anyone says she can't do something, she does it as a matter of principle."

So far her daughter has tackled ice skating, swimming, dancing, climbing, ballet, judo, playing netball for her school, running, high jump, and ballet lessons. She is currently preparing for her Duke of Edinburgh bronze award expedition.

She goes back to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital for a check-up every six months and needs a new foot every six to nine months.

"If she puts on a pair of flip-flops, you would be hard pressed to know there was anything different," said Penny.

The Royal Bournemouth Hospital department has some 900 patients from Dorset, the New Forest and South Wiltshire, and manager Alison Ashmore is proud of the service it offers.

"Being a small centre we know most of our patients really well. We have a fantastic group of staff and the quality and skill level is, I would say, as good as private," she said.

Patients range from young babies to elderly amputees.

Around 70 per cent of lower leg amputations are carried out because of vascular disease, much of it caused by smoking.

Then there are cases such as that of Army Colonel Jock Inster, who lost his leg following a road accident more than three years ago. After being fitted with a false leg by the Royal Bournemouth Hospital's prosthetics department, he was able to take up a key military post in Sierra Leone.

If a patient is likely to undergo an amputation, counselling can start before the operation. Afterwards, the hospital keeps in touch with the patient's progress.

"Once they are medically fit, they are invited down for a pre-consultation visit, where they meet the therapist and nurse and chat about what they were like before the operation and what they would like to do," said Alison.

"An older person might want to be able to take the dog out, but a younger person might want to take the children swimming. They then meet the consultant and the prosthetist and decide the best limb for them to start on. The sooner we can build it and get them going, the better."

The department uses a computer system to work out the shape the limb needs to be, then the 3-D image is emailed to a carver, who sculpts it in foam. The limb is made on the premises.

The materials and components used vary in appearance, cost and function, and are chosen on the basis of what is best for the patient. For example, silicone is lifelike but heavy, so it is not appropriate for everyone.

"It's about weighing up the different factors and what's right for the person, but there's nothing you can get privately that you can't get on the NHS," said Rachel.

Retired gamekeeper Peter Allen, 75, of Ringwood, even has names for his false legs - Albert and Egbert.

"They've made a lot of difference to me. I feel vulnerable in a wheelchair. When you're on your legs, you don't feel the same insecurity," he said.