A Fashion blogger who grew up in Swindon is facing expulsion from the UK.

In an emotional plea posted on her YouTube page, Zimbabwe-born Rutendo Tichiwangani asked her fans for help to cover her £2,300 costs so she can claim UK citizenship.

The 22-year-old, who attended St Joseph’s College after joining her refugee parents in Swindon aged 10, said: “My life is not what people see. I live a very, very difficult life and I feel like every single day is an emotional rollercoaster.”

Already in debt, she said that her six year period of discretionary leave would come to an end in just one month’s time.

“I haven’t managed to save any money, I lost my job, I am in debt and I can’t even get a job right now to work and save,” she wrote on an online fundraising appeal.

“With my visa expiring in a month, no one will hire me temporarily. I have only one month left to gather this money and I am running out of time.

“The reason why I have left it so late is because I was trying everything in my power to sort it out, but I have come to the end of the road.”

But after posting her fundraising appeal on Tuesday, the online celebrity has smashed her £2,300 target.

In just two days, Rutendo has raised almost £4,000 – helped along by social media users who spotted the appeal when it began trending on Twitter with the #VisaBae hashtag.

Thanking her followers she said: “This means the world to me. I’ve been trying to go figure out how to stop donations and I’m shuffling. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP DONATING!”