A teenager with severe Tourette’s has been forced to delay her education after her assistance dog became unwell - unless she can raise £10,000.

Ellie Bourner, from Maidstone, is often exhausted from verbal and physical tics brought on by the syndrome, but was coping well with the help of her dog Toby.

After the pooch became sick and was unable to attend to her when she was having an attack, the 16-year-old has “gone back into her shell” and lost all dependency.

Toby would help her out in many ways, including deep pressure therapy, distraction techniques, grounding, finding an exit, and alerting Ellie to her high heart rate when a tic attack is coming on.

Now, her mum Elisa has set up a fundraiser to help train a new Labrador, Jasper.

The family, of Gilbert Way, are hoping it will help Ellie gain independence and go to Hadlow College in Tonbridge to study animal management.

Elisa explained Ellie also suffers from anxiety and Irlin syndrome, which see’s the brain overstimulated.

The 42-year-old said: “I didn’t know anything about Tourette’s syndrome until two years ago and I had to learn quickly.

“It is hard as a parent to see your daughter coming out with the most awful swear words, tics, hurting herself, falling to the floor after her legs have given way – it’s heartbreaking to see your child like that when she led a very normal childhood.

“The last couple of years have been really tough with lockdown and Tourette’s, which is why we decided on an assistance dog.

“They eased her tics and anxiety. Toby has been really poorly and has to retire and we have to train up a Labrador puppy to help give Ellie a better chance of living an independent life.”

“It’s been very hard, I don’t like going out as much now without him,” Ellie said.

Elisa added: “Her anxiety is a lot worse, which triggers more tic attacks, so Ellie stays at home. She’d go to Aldi, Costa, sit in there and read a book, get independence and doing things which normal 16-year-olds want to do. She can’t do that now.

“She was meant to go to Hadlow College but can’t do however many days a week sitting there in a class without a dog so I’ve had to defer it.

“It’s so sad. Hadlow had everything in place for Toby.”

The full cost of Jasper’s training, through Dogs for Jobs in London, is expected to come to around £10,000.

You can donate here.