A DESPERATE foster mum from Hampshire is fundraising for life-changing surgery to suck the fat out of her legs, which weigh four stone each and are still growing.

Former support worker Vicki Hull, who has 30-inch thighs – the same circumference as a size 12 woman's waist – was born with an agonising medical condition that causes fatty tissue to accumulate around her lower body.

The 29-year-old from Southampton says she fears the condition will lead to her becoming completely immobile - while it has also forced her to make the heartbreaking decision not to have children of her own because she "couldn't bear for them to suffer in the same way".

Her 'tree trunk' legs ballooned from the age of 11, but doctors repeatedly told her she just needed to lose weight.

She returned for answers nearly 20 times until she became so frustrated she attempted to commit suicide at the age of 22.

It was then doctors finally took a closer look and she was diagnosed with lipoedema, also known as 'painful fat syndrome'.

But since then, her thighs – and 22-inch-wide calves – have continued to grow rapidly.

The condition is making life a misery for Vicki, who now wears size 20 trousers – three sizes bigger than her torso.

She struggles to walk because of pain in her legs, which rub together and cause unbearable strain on her hips and knees.

5ft 1in Vicki, who has a six-year-old foster son, can no longer fit in the bath and seats often buckle under her 16 stone frame – half of which comes from her legs' mass.

Worst of all, it is a genetic condition which Vicki believes her mother, Jayne, 53, who suffers mildly, may have passed it onto her.

Vicki has been warned that without help she will eventually become completely immobile and her only hope of a normal life is to have a special form of liposuction.

The treatment will remove the fatty tissue, stop the pain and prevent it from getting any worse.

But it is not available on the NHS, which classes it as a cosmetic procedure, so she must now raise £20,000 for the private operation in Germany.

Vikki said: "I go to bed in pain and I wake up in pain. It is constant and it is absolutely devastating because it is only ever going to get worse."

Saying she is worried the condition will affect her ability to care for her son, she added: "Worst of all, as it's genetic, I've decided never to have children of my own because I couldn't bear for them to suffer in the same way.

"That's heartbreaking to me as all I've ever wanted is to be a mummy.

"Doctors have said my tree-trunk legs will grow and grow and I will become immobile, eventually ending up in a wheelchair."

Vicki's legs suddenly began to grow rapidly when she was just 11 and by the time she was 18, she couldn't see her knees when she looked down.

Doctors told Vicki she was just overweight, but even when she dieted and got a personal trainer her legs continued to grow.

She sank into a deep depression and suffered a breakdown in her twenties because of the frustration of not knowing what was happening.

Eventually, after saying her mother "marched her" to the doctors, she was referred to specialists who diagnosed her with lipoedema, which affects mainly women and causes an abnormal build-up of fat cells from the ankles to the waist.

It has continued to make her life hell ever since and Vikki said: "The pain is horrendous and it is only getting worse.

"I get pins and needles, shooting pains, stabbing pains and because there is so much weight on my legs, it's affecting my knees, hips and joints.

"I have to build myself up to even leave the house because of cruel strangers who stare and make horrible comments.

"I've had girls in shops saying 'she's not going to wear that, is she?' and I've broken seats before, which is humiliating."

Her condition has worsened dramatically in the past few years and it has now spread to her arms and waist – meaning she is just one stage away from becoming completely immobile.

Therapy for lipoedema includes massage and compression stockings, but the only treatment available is a type of liposuction.

With the procedure unavailable on the NHS, her only option is to travel to Germany for the surgery – but she will need £20,00 for the treatment.

Her dad Martin, 54, will pay for the flights and accommodation but her family and friends are now desperately trying to fundraise for the operation to prevent her becoming wheelchair-bound forever.

They have already raised nearly £4,000 and Vicki has also had help from support group Lipoedema Ladies.

Mum Jayne, a senior office clerk, added: "To see your daughter suffer like this has been absolutely devastating.

"The other day she called me up because she'd driven to the supermarket and she couldn't physically get out of the car because there wasn't the space. She said: 'Mum, I can't get out.'

"It broke my heart, but I won't stop because we've got to get this done for her. It will change her life."

To support Vicki visit www.gofundme.com/29drgknm