The family of a football-mad 10-year-old with cerebral palsy are fundraising for a powerchair that will allow her to compete.

Bella Barton, from Faversham, has never let her condition - which weakens her muscles - stop her from taking part in the game.

However a delay, caused by the pandemic, to treatment Bella needs to lengthen the tendons in her legs means she is now a full-time wheelchair user.

The Hernhill Primary School pupil has had to give up walking frame football, as she is no longer able to stand for any length of time without pain.

Her mum Sue Barton told KentOnline it has been "very hard" to watch her daughter struggle to play the game she loves.

However, they have found that powerchair football is a good way for Bella to still compete.

“Bella does still attend frame football and she really does try but she just can’t stay up on her feet for too long because of the pain," said Ms Barton.

"She has made friends there so she still likes to go but I don’t think she’ll be able to participate in a tournament.

“But with powerchair football - even though she has to travel all the way to Brighton - it’s a lot easier for her.

“It is very hard as her mum to watch her struggle to do all the things she wants to do - it’s very frustrating.

“It’s just her legs that don’t work. In every other way she’s just a typical 10-year-old girl and football is the thing that she likes to do."

Bella's mum continued: “All weekend it’s just football, football, football. This is the one thing that she can get on with and do herself and she absolutely loves it. She definitely just wants to get back out on the pitch.

“She’s very outgoing and independent and she can be very stubborn. If she wants to do something, she wants to do it herself if at all possible.”

Bella moved to the seated version of the game, where players use specially-designed powered wheelchairs in order to hit a large ball, and now wants to go further and take part in tournaments with Brighton & Hove Albion.

But her second-hand chair - donated by an older member of the team - does not meet the league's requirements.

A new football powerchair, which differs from a standard wheelchair by being lower to the ground with a cage at the front for hitting the ball, costs about £5,000.

Bella’s mum has managed to find a pre-owned chair that meets the tournament's standards for £2,000 but that is still a stretch for the mum-of-five.

The family is attempting to raise the cash through GoFundMe and have already received £355.

Bella was born with four limb cerebral palsy and a global developmental delay - but her family says this doesn’t stop her living life like any other child her age.

Although they still have more than £1,600 to raise to reach their goal, Bella is already planning on who to give her current football chair away to.

Susan Barton said: “Bella will definitely be handing it down to another child coming into the game who wants to learn, because although it can’t be used in tournaments it’s great for practising.

"I think Bella already has someone in mind -she wants to give somebody else the chance to get into the sport.”