Mr Russell and Josie at Lin and Megan's funeral

The 11-year-old suffered serious head injuries in the attack, and was originally awarded just £18,500 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

The offer comes after a nationwide appeal spearheaded by a tabloid newspaper.

It brings Josie's compensation award to £79,000.

Josie was brain damaged and left for dead in the attack at Chillenden, Kent, on 9 July 1996. Her mother, Lin and six-year-old sister Megan were killed.

Michael Stone escorted away from court in 1997

She is due to have an operation to insert a titanium plate over a nine-inch injury to her head.

It is expected that a claim for her personal injuries will be dealt with after the surgery.

Josie's father, Dr Shaun Russell, is to receive £15,000 compensation for the loss of his wife and child.

Michael Stone, 37, is awaiting trial accused of the murders.

Award slashed

The boosted award was made on Wednesday, the day before the High Court ruled that three other children are also entitled to more compensation than the CICA had awarded.

The High Court ruling that the CICA had wrongly taken into account "substitute services" when slashing the award made to Aaron, Marian and Michael Kavanagh after their mother was killed by their father in 1989.

The children were then aged three, two and one.

The three were initially awarded £35,000, but this was drastically cut to just £3,000 each in a re-hearing after four years.

'Loving care'

At that point two members of the board decided that taking into account the "substitute services" provided by an aunt and uncle who had taken the children in, they had suffered no loss.

The High Court did, however, rule that the three are entitled to extra compensation for the loss of their mother's "irreplaceable" loving care.

The claim was sent back to a different panel of the authority for reassessment.

Some 18,000 similar cases still waiting to be heard could be affected by the decision.