Dad Ian Wood and mum Gwendoline Hodson claim they were left dumbstruck when an inspector upheld an appeal by Tarmac to quarry land surrounding their Euxton home.

The couple – who have had to leave their jobs to care for their five-year-old daughter Sophie – fear the huge quarry will prove detrimental to their little girl's health.

Sophie suffers from reflex anoxic seizures which causes her heart and breathing to stop for as long as three minutes and her skin to turn white – it is a rare condition that affects just 4,000 children.

Mum Gwendoline said: "We just can't take anymore. I just want Sophie to get better and the quarry is going to end her world."

She said Sophie may have suffered lung damage as as a result of surgery for her condition and the fear is that the dust and noise from Tarmac's quarry will make her health worse."

Gwendoline added: "When Sophie has a seizure it is like watching someone die. She stops breathing and her heart stops and she goes very cold.

"The smallest of things can set off a seizure – even a school bell, yet the storage for the sand from the quarry will be right next to our home. This is just another nightmare on top of everything else."

Campaigners are hoping to appeal against the inspectors decision by funding a High Court battle but legal costs are predicted to exceed £100,000.

For more on this story pick-up your copy of the Guardian