George: Doctors told me dancing could cripple me

Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson has said doctors warned his breakdancing routines risk crippling him for life.

The 14-year-old from Warrington told the Sun he defied doctor's orders to perform in Saturday night's live final of the nationwide talent show.

He told the newspaper he suffered from a rare condition called Scheuermann's disease, a curvature of the spine that hits fast-growing teenagers. The condition left him blind in one eye for two months before Christmas and doctors had warned him he should stop his beloved breakdancing in case it left him permanently disabled.

He told the Sun: "The eye was all inflamed. I'd been using Deep Heat for my sore back, so at first I just thought I'd got it in my eye. But I ended up blind. The spinal nerves were trapped and it affected my optic nerves.

"I lost all my co-ordination and it was really hard to dance, as I didn't have my balance. I kept bumping into everything."

He says he now has to be rushed to hospital if his eye becomes sore - the first sign that he needs urgent treatment.

George put in a slick performance to Singing In The Rain, winning plaudits from the judges and the most phone votes from the watching public. In so doing he won 100,000 pounds and the opportunity to appear in front of the Prince of Wales at the Royal Variety Performance.

He has also faced cruel taunts about the dancing that has been his passion since the age of six.

George said: "Kids called me a beggar for busking. I've also been called poof, f*****, queer, little girl. But now I just think, 'I'm the one on TV, not you'."

He put his success down to a last-minute change of heart over his act. The dancer said he originally intended to perform to a Bee Gees classic in the final before switching back to a tried and tested routine.