Britain's Got Talent's Julia Carlile, leaves Formby Festival-goers in tears as she dances fo

Britain's Got Talent's Julia Carlile, 15, leaves Formby Festival-goers in tears as she dances for the last time before undergoing £175,000 scoliosis operation funded by Simon Cowell. She will be travelling to America to undergo a life-changing operation on her spine in a week's time, funded by TV's very own Simon Cowell.

The teenage dancer - who suffers from the painful condition scoliosis - wowed the crowds as she delivered a routine alongside the rest of her MerseyGirls troupe at the Formby Festival in Formby on Sunday 16th July.

Despite reports alleging that Simon had offered to pay for her surgery, neither Julia nor the talent show judge had confirmed the claims - until now.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, she confessed: "Simon came and spoke to us backstage. Just walking off stage and he said he was paying for it and I couldn't believe it."

"Annie came up to me and said Simon wants to speak to us. He said we did a really good performance."

The operation will set the 57-year-old star back £175,000, and will see Julia travel to New York with her family on Sunday. The teen will then travel to New Jersey where she will receive the surgery that has restored her hope in being able to dance again.

The procedure, which is called vertebral body tethering, involves screws being fixed along a cord inside the back. It takes just 6 weeks to recover compared to 6 months and is reversible if it doesn't work.

Unsurprisingly, emotions were running high as the dance group - who are made up of Julia's friends, as well as her older sister Alice, 17 - weeped after performing together for the last time before the operation.

Opening up about her tear-jerking final performance, Julia confessed: "It was quite sad. I'm not going to see any of the girls now before my surgery. We were all crying and saying bye to each other, hugging and crying. we are really, really close friends."

"I'm beyond happy and it means we can carry on dancing together for the rest of our lives. Simon didn't have to do it and he has changed my life. There are no words to thank him for how grateful we are. It's just unbelievable. It does not feel real."

Their performance at the Formby Festival was fantastic with hundreds watching them in the main arena. Good Luck with the operation Julia, we'll all be thinking of you and thankyou for such a brilliant performance on Sunday.

Read the full story about the Formby Festival and see all our photos in the centre pages of this weeks Formby Bubble newspaper out on Thursday 20th July.