A TEENAGE dancer forced to put her dream career on hold after being diagnosed with a rare bone disorder has turned her attention to helping children with cancer.

Emily Eaton has been forced to stop dancing for a year due to Avascular Necrosis, which means a bone in one of her feet has died.

But she has been told her foot is likely to recover if she has complete rest and has decided to spend the time helping the Little princess Trust.

The Trust makes wigs for children with cancer and Emily has donated 11 inches of her hair and is also fund raising towards the cost of making a wig.

Emily – known as Millie to her friends at Allenbourn Middle School in Wimborne, – chose her 13th birthday to have her hair cut.

She said: "I have been dancing since I was three and anyone who knows me will understand how devastating it is for me to give up dance for such a long time.

"However, I do realise I am very fortunate. Hopefully with complete rest my foot will recover and I wanted to make something positive out of this situation.

"I decided that as I was not able to dance for such a long time and wouldn’t need my hair to be so long that I would donate it to the Little Princess Trust. I just really want to make another child smile."

Allenbourn’s head teacher, Cindy Pritchard, said: "We are all incredibly proud of Emily and how she has turned what is very upsetting news into something good."

Emily used to dance between one and three hours a day, seven days a week, attending the Orchard Academy of Performing Arts in Poole. One of her most recent successes saw her pass her intermediate foundation ballet exam at the Royal Academy of Dance.

To support Emily’s efforts for the Little Princess Trust go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Emily-Eaton12