THE FAMILY of a 12-year-old champion dancer is locked in a race against time to raise £85,000 for life-changing surgery.

Tilly Ziemniak, from Furs Lane, Watersheddings, has a passion for dancing but 18 months ago she was diagnosed with scoliosis, which means her spine is twisted in an ‘S’ shape.

After months of painful attempts to try to rectify the curvature using braces, her parents were told that Tilly would need surgery. But, the NHS operation on offer will fuse her spine with metal rods, meaning she can no longer dance and her spine will no longer be able to grow.

Searching for a second opinion, parents Aaron and Ally Ziemniak travelled to London and were told that their daughter could be treated with a different operation but that the cost would be £85,000.

The enterprising pair began a series of fundraising events and schemes - backed by members of the community - and have already raised more than £40,000 in just a few weeks as they look to reach their target by December 6.

Mr Ziemniak said his daughter’s diagnosis had left the family in “absolute shock”.

“I didn’t even know what it was, I had never heard of it and it was a total shock once we knew what it was,” he said.

“For a child of 12 years old who wants nothing more than to be herself and do the things she loves it is very heartbreaking to witness as parents, especially when you see her try to do all that’s been asked of her to try and stop the spines curving deteriorate.”

But, the family is optimistic that they can reach their target and have already raised significant sums through darts competitions, raffles and auctions, with many more events planned.

Much of the fundraising has been supported by the people of Oldham who have donated items to be auctioned or raised money with their own plans and Mr Ziemniak said he “couldn’t believe” the help he had received from complete strangers.

He said: “You think the world is a bad place sometimes because of all the things you here in the news. But then something like this happens and it’s pretty miraculous. People we don’t know have been helping us out.”

To get involved and help Tilly visit her fundraising page here: bit.ly/334dGi2 or find out more about her story here: bit.ly/35fLfzd.