A mother has revealed how she was told that her daughter could not go to a nursery because she could frighten other children.
Sofya Zakharova, two, was born with a deformed skull and her parents were told she should get surgery before applying for a place.
Operations for the girl have been delayed and experts have warned that unless she mixes with other children her development will be affected.
Her parents Svetlana and Rasul, who live in the village of Alatany in Bashkortostan, a federal region of Russia, have battled for Sofya whose fingers and toes are also fused together.
It is not currently known what condition the little girl has.
