Rowling campaigns for disabled children

Harry Potter creator JK Rowling has rushed to the aid of disabled children held in appalling conditions in eastern European institutions.

The author confesses she was repulsed by pictures showing a mentally ill boy incarcerated in a wire cage at an orphanage in Prague, Czech Republic, and is now fronting a campaign to publicise his plight.

The popular writer is penning letters to politicians and ambassadors, under the banner of new charity Children's High Level Group.

She says: "All I saw was his distorted face staring through the wire mesh. He looked deeply distressed, as though he was screaming.

"I felt an instinctive revulsion.

"I hope it will end the acceptance of abandonment of children with physical and mental handicaps."