A YOUNG St Albans woman crippled by cerebral palsy has met her heroine, actress Keira Knightley thanks to a charity which grants wishes to the seri,ously ill.

Eighteen-year-old Jessi Parrott met the star of Bend It Like Beckhan and Pirates Of The Caribbean at the West End's Comedy Theatre after seeing her perform in Moliere's The Misanthrope.

Jessi, who is confined to a wheelchair and can control her pain only through a complex routine of acupuncture, physiotherapy and injections, wrote to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, asking: “During the last few months I have had a particularly difficult time physically.

"One of my lifelines (literally) has been watching Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley.

"I would really like the chance to meet and say thank you for her motivation and talk to her about acting, period drama and Jane Austen."

The actress spent 25 minutes with her fan, discussing mutual interests like films, plays and Katherine Hepburn.