A teenager with a serious heart condition is running 10k for charity despite having had surgery eight times to repair her heart and keep her alive.

Emma Collins, 17, of Leeward Gardens, Wimbledon, was born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a heart condition which causes low oxygen levels in the blood and heart defects.

She said: "When I was waiting for my heart valve transplant, I was very weak and needed to use a wheelchair to get around.

"I could walk, but it was very tiring.

"I am doing this run because I like to challenge myself."

Miss Collins will be raising money for the Children’s Heart Federation (CHF) which helps children living with a heart condition.

She said: "CHF has been a great support to my parents particularly when I was a baby.

"I had severe feeding problems, and they provided lots of help and advice as to how to feed me."

Around 1 in every 133 children has a heart problem affecting around 5000 children each year .

For more information or to donate visit justgiving.com/Emma-Collins11