Despite being a swimming sensation, Marion Cole faces the prospect of never racing again unless she gets surgery to fix her spine.

The 12-year-old girl from Shirley was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis this year, which means she has a 68 degree curvature of the spine.

Her scoliosis causes her unbearable pain and she has had to taper down on most of her activities, but she is determined to swim on.

This was evidenced when she medalled at the 2017 London Regional Swimming Championship.

One option for Marion would be to have the spinal surgery in the UK, but that would almost certainly end her swimming career.

"I am 12 years old and swimming is my life," Marion wrote on her JustGiving page.

"My dream started when I was five years old and I don’t want it to end."

So the only other option for Marion is to fly to Germany and have the surgery there. The problem? The surgery will costs £45,000.

Now a JustGiving page has been set up to help fund Marion's surgery.

So far a little over £4000 has been donated.

To donate to Marion's surgery, follow this link.