ON the inside she's like any other bubbly little seven-year-old girl but on the outside she has the face and body of an old woman. Brave Ashanti Elliott-Smith suffers from an incredibly rare incurable condition that makes her age EIGHT TIMES faster than normal.

It means by the time she's 10, she will be as physically frail as a granny aged 80.

And even now, while she plays with her school pals and listens to her favourite pop band JLS, she has to cope with problems of ageing like arthritis and a weakening heart. But Ashanti's mum Phoebe, 24, is determined she'll have as normal and happy a childhood as possible.

Because the youngster's illness - a genetic disorder called Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome that's shared by just one other child in Britain - reduces life expectancy to 13.

But Phoebe, who has another daughter aged four, told us: "We make the most of each day. "Ashanti's such an easy-going lively little girl - she's so precious.

"I'm so proud of her. She doesn't let her condition bother her at all. She's such a big character and everyone knows when she is in the room."
NEW BORN: I didn't know she didn't have the future I wished for her, says mum
NEW BORN: I didn't know she didn't have the future I wished for her, says mum

While her playmates have bloomed from babies to thriving children, Ashanti has degenerated like a pensioner. Right are snaps from the family album showing the changes, along with Phoebe's thoughts at each stage.

What little hair Ashanti grew as a toddler has gone. She is now bald and has the wizened features of an elderly person - which causes passers-by to stare in the street.

She has very poor grip in her hands, and in just three years will have the arthritic, heart and respiratory conditions of someone in their 80s.

You must login or register to view this content.

She currently stands at just under 3ft and is just 2st, the usual weight for a three-year-old.
7 MONTHS: 'Our first Christmas. I had started to get a bit worried.'
7 MONTHS: 'Our first Christmas. I had started to get a bit worried.'

But it is unlikely Ashanti will get any bigger.

And her tiny frame is so frail she has to be kept away from poorly kids because illnesses like chicken pox and flu could kill her.

But when Ashanti was born in May 2003, she weighed 5lb 10oz and looked like a healthy baby.

Phoebe said: "I'd had a normal pregnancy and I thought she was perfect. Her dad Albi and I were thrilled."

The first sign that all was not right came at three weeks, when Ashanti's body started to convulse.

Phoebe rushed her to hospital but was shocked when doctors mistakenly thought the tot had been violently shaken by an adult.
1ST BIRTHDAY: 'Just after her first diagnosis. I could not believe she had Progeria'
1ST BIRTHDAY: 'Just after her first diagnosis. I could not believe she had Progeria'