AN aspiring model battling a painful condition was crowned the belle of the ball at her very own prom.

More than 200 community members rallied around Trimdon Village teenager, Ellie Pattison, as she took to the dancefloor at Trimdon Community College for a special prom.

The prom was organised by the youngster's mother, Caroline Pattison, who vowed Ellie would make it to the ball despite her living with hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome (hEDS).

The condition is a connective tissue disorder which sees Ellie brave each day with chronic muscle and bone pain, extreme fatigue, gastrointestinal issues and other symptoms.

Mrs Pattison said: "Ellie's a very old soul and is loved by everyone, I'm so pleased we were able to do this for her as she is so caring and thoughtful.

"I wanted to give her a prom as she stopped going to Sedgefield Community College in year eight due to her health and wouldn't have had one otherwise.

"Everyone has said Ellie's dress was the dress of the season, it was the beautiful day Ellie deserved."

Despite the youngster's condition, she is a talented dancer and attends CS Dance Academy weekly at Trimdon Village Hall.

The prom saw her show off her dance skills with special guest Andreas Ru.

Mr Ru is a photographer and Latin dance teacher who previously photographed Ellie for a modelling shoot for Samalie Jewellery.

Hundreds gathered to watch the dance after Ellie arrived in a white limousine surrounded by her family and friends.

She said: “It is the first time I’ve felt normal as I didn’t feel judged. Not one person bothered to say anything about my tube they just saw me. I didn’t realise so many people cared until I saw them in person."

The teenager's mother is working to raise awareness of the condition and is supporting Ellie in her dreams of becoming a model and plans to publish a book describing her experience with (hEDS).

Mrs Pattison said: "She would love to model but but none of the mainstream modelling agencies accept people with tubes and are severally lacking in their openness. I hope in the future we find a way for Ellie to fulfill her modelling dreams despite her health.

"More needs to be done to support people and families living with ehlers-danlos syndrome because people don't know anything about it – junior doctors need to be trained about this condition because Ellie has been through so much and lives in constant pain."

For more information on Ellie's experiences visit ellies_journey.x on Instagram.