A schoolgirl who only ate soft beige foods can finally enjoy chocolate Easter eggs for the first time thanks to hypnosis.

Ten-year-old Betsy Pearson refused to eat anything hard after she developed an extreme fear of choking.

Her breakfast consisted of Shreddies, while lunch and dinners were mainly plain pasta, soft bread or chicken nuggets.

Betsy would gag if she even attempted to eat anything like raw vegetables or fruit.

She would avoid food that she worried she wouldn’t be able to chew through after doctors said she had weak jaw muscles.

Mum Amy, 37, said: "It was basically all beige food she ate because it was not threatening and was colourless."

"She’d eat Shreddies in the morning, for her dinner every day she has plain pasta, it’s always the same for the last seven years. "

"Her teachers wanted her to be on school dinners but I told them she wouldn’t eat anything. "

"Then they told me to bring a pack lunch in as she wasn’t eating anything there."

"I always thought she had weak jaw muscles, so I took her to an osteopath and they agreed with me. "

"She’s always had the fear that she will choke on what’s hard to eat. If I put a steak in front of her we’d have no chance. "

"Anything tougher to eat than a few bites was a no no."

Betsy’s eating habits began to change at around the age of six.

Doctors had dismissed him as a fussy eater, so Amy sought help from Harley Street hypnotherapist David Kilmurry.

He diagnosed avoidant restrictive food intake disorder and within one session had Betsy trying new foods.

As well as fruit and veg, Betsy is now able to enjoy chocolate for the first time – just in time for Easter.

David said: "Betsy has been a dream to work with and I’m really pleased that she can now eat coloured foods which means fruit and veg and of course chocolate Easter eggs."

"Betsy has checked in for regular try tests where she completes lots of tastes of new foods and has started taking sandwiches to school, travelled abroad and ate in restaurants without reluctance or stress."

Mum-of-two Amy, from Huddersfield, West Yorks., said she is delighted with Betsy’s progress.

She said: "She used to eat anything when she was a baby. I don’t even know where it came from, it just started. "

"We literally had three meals that we just rotated constantly. She used to like fish fingers but she doesn’t like those anymore."

"We’d known for a while she had something but we thought she was a fussy eater. "

"It wasn’t until Covid lockdown when she was six or seven that there was an issue. "

"I tried making her something and you could see the anxiety building up. My husband Gavin found an article about David Kilmurry so we got in touch with him."

"Since having the hypnotherapy sessions, Betsy has really opened up about trying new foods which is wonderful to see."

Betsy said: "I really enjoy trying different things now. I really like yoghurt and can't wait to eat a chocolate egg this Easter."