A mental technique may have helped a wheelchair-bound girl walk again - but experts are warning others against false hope.

Lara Masters was left unable to move her legs after an arteriovenous malformation in her teens ago.

The condition leads to abnormal blood vessel growth around the spine which robs vital nerve cells of their blood supply, and she was told she might never walk again.

However, she enlisted the help of a "guru" teaching a form of mind control which she says has put her back on her feet just a few months later.

However, her saviour has no formal medical qualifications, and some experts in the field say it is not unprecendented for recovery to happen spontaneously.

Mind control: Hratch Ogali

Hratch Ogali taught Lara a form of meditation which helps her focus entirely on specific leg movements.

She told the BBC: "You are removing your emotions so your thought processes are clear.

"It becomes literally 'left leg forward, right leg forward' - it's that simple."

"I've never thought this is it, I'm never going to walk again, I've always had a feeling I'm going to get better."

Determination

Mr Ogali praised Lara's determination to break the pain barrier and get walking again.

For everybody there's a certain amount of natural recovery, and perhaps her guru has been able to bring that out

John Cavanagh, Spinal Research Trust

He said: "There is a vast difference. There is no reason for her to stop.

"She got depressed, got upset at times, because it's hard work, but the truth is she wants to walk."

However, John Cavanagh, from the Spinal Research Trust, told the BBC: "I wouldn't call it a miracle cure, but it's really lovely that she's been able to get the recovery she has.

"But for everybody there's a certain amount of natural recovery, and perhaps her guru has been able to bring that out.

"But for other people - don't build up false hope because your condition may be very different."