A YOUNG performer is calling on the support of the community to keep her on a dream course.

Tilly Ingle, 20, was offered a place at the Laine Theatre Arts School in Epsom last year after completing a foundation course.

But the cost for each year of the course is £15,000, which must be paid in full before lessons begin, and students are not eligible for government loans.

Tilly organised a raft of fundraising events last year to cover the costs, raising an astonishing £14,000, and is hosting a show tonight in aid of her cause.

She said: “I managed to cover the costs of my first year, and now I’m going into the second and I’m just trying to raise as much as possible.

“This has been the best year of my life. I’ll do anything I can to stay at Laine – it’s just been amazing.”

Tilly’s mum Janet paid for the foundation course using child benefit payments saved over the course of 18 years, but she has no money left to help her pay for the rest of the course.

“Last year I put on a show, did car boot sales, sold cakes, everything I could think of to pay for the course.”

The musical theatre student, of Morley Lane in Boscombe, started following her dreams as a “shy and introverted” six-year-old.

She said: “I had quite a difficult upbringing and my mum worked very hard to send me to dancing and drama lessons.

“I started at Swish of the Curtain and it’s always been my dream.”

Tilly’s show, which will feature performances from a number of local theatre and dance groups, will take place at the De La Salle Theatre at St Peter’s Upper School at 7pm.