She said: "I woke up that day and said to my mummy that I wanted to feel pretty in my pink wig.

"I can't wear bows or make up like the other girls, but wearing my wig makes me happy and smiling.

"When the teacher made me take it off, I was very upset and sad. Everybody was saying how nice it was.

"I don't understand why I had to take off. I felt like I was being picked on and it made me embarrassed and sad."Ashanti suffers from hair loss cased by Hutchinson Gildford Progeria (SWN)

Ashanti suffers from hair loss cased by Hutchinson Gildford Progeria (SWN)

Tragically Ashanti is not expected to live past 16 and is one of only two people in the country who suffers from the debilitating rapid ageing condition that has left her trapped inside the body of a pensioner.

She wanted to start wearing a wig to ''lift her spirits'', make her feel pretty and fit in with the other girls.

But her teacher told her to remove the pink wig - because it was the wrong colour and the school was worried it might ''encourage'' other pupils at Oakmeeds Community College, in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, to dye their hair too.

Angry mum Phoebe Smith, 29, said: "It's an absolute disgrace. She was completely devastated when the teacher told her to take the wig off.

"Of course nobody has naturally pink hair, but we feel that anything Ashanti can do to cheer herself up is brilliant, and should be encouraged.

"She already feels different to the other children and has had some mean comments - but when she was wearing the wig her friends said she looked lovely.

"They all know that Ashanti isn't very well sometimes, but that won't make them want to dye their hair."