Schoolgirl Annie Edwards is certainly a big hit in the entertainment world.

The 12-year-old is a regular performer on the stage and has never let the fact she is smaller than other girls her age stop her from stealing the limelight.

Annie is one of only seven people in the country to be born with a rare growth disorder called cartilage hair hypoplasia, a form of dwarfism.

It means she is only one metre and six centimetres tall but that has never got in the way of her dancing ambition.

Annie has already performed in London's West End and is a member of the UK dance company Zoo Nation.

She also performed in the Wizard of Oz at the Theatre Royal in Brighton over Christmas and has won numerous competitions.

The youngster does ballet, line dancing, street dancing and tap which means she is in regular demand for shows.

Annie's mother Tracy, of Southdown Avenue, Peacehaven, said performing was in her daughter's blood.

She said: “There is a history of ballet performers in the family and her older brother Isaac is a street dancer.

“They both love being on stage and they won a talent show last year with a dance routine they did together.

“Annie has always been determined. She was diagnosed with her condition when she was about one year old but has been regularly dancing since she was seven.

“We are all very proud of her. She is a member of the elite group of performers at Zoo Nation which means she will be offered some of the best jobs which is great for her.

“We are not sure what will happen in terms of her height.

“She has grown six centimetres in the last year which was quite a large spurt but we shall see how that goes.”

Annie is not the only person in the family to have the condition as her younger sister Brydi, 11 has also been diagnosed.

However older brothers Isaac, 14 and Joseph, 17, have not been affected.

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