AN 11-YEAR-OLD with a hole in her heart is recruiting celebrities to help raise thousands for other children like her.

David Prince and his wife Jennifer found out their daughter Rae-Lei had a hole in her heart when she was just three-years-old.

When what they thought was a cold would not go away, they took her to the doctors, who delivered the “petrifying” diagnosis.

Mr Prince, of Calderon Road, Leytonstone, said: “She was so little, it was very scary for all of us.

“But she’s so switched on and her specialists were so fantastic that she’s known about her condition for as long as she can remember.”

In 2015 Mr Prince had just picked up Rae-Lei from school at Avon House Preparatory in Woodford Green when the youngster spotted a fundraising advert for charity called Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) in memory of a local schoolgirl.

Spotting the link to her condition Rae-Lei was determined to start her own fundraising mission, but had to wait until after her 11+ exams.

Two years later Rae-Lei’s crowdfunding campaign is in full swing and she has organised a cycle ride and a school concert to raise money for the heart charity.

She has already recruited the help of footballer Fabrice Muamba who nearly died of a heart attack in the middle of a game in 2012.

To add to his signed Bolton shirt, she has written to the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt, rapper Stormzy, and a host of Spurs players in a bid to raise £3,500.

Mr Prince added: “We found out about Rae-Lei’s condition by accident, but technically something terrible could happen to her at any moment.

“But she’s so incredible she totally gets it and what’s to help other children like her.

“We found out CRY offer bereavement counselling and she said that if anything happened to her she would want us to have somebody to talk to.

“It brought me to tears. For somebody so young to think like that is unbelievable – we’re so proud of her.”

Rae-Lei’s Ride for Life is at Redbridge Cycle Centre in Hainault on July 2 and her charity concert will take place at Avon House in High Road, Woodford Green on June 8.

To find out more about CRY, see the website.