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A student who received a £23,000 gift from pop superstar Taylor Swift said she was "over the moon" about the donation.

Vitoria Mario, 18, set up an online fundraiser after finding she could not afford to take up a maths course at the University of Warwick.

Ms Mario moved to the UK from Portugal four years ago, so is not eligible for maintenance loans or grants.

She promised to graduate with top grades "to make Taylor proud".

Speaking to BBC Radio London's Vanessa Feltz, Ms Mario said: "I didn't know what to do. Even the message was really nice.

"I don't know how [Swift] saw it. If it was someone from the UK I would be less surprised."

Ms Mario said she was already a Taylor Swift fan but was now a fan "for the rest of my life".

The American singer, whose 16 top 10 British chart hits include the aptly titled Wildest Dreams, wrote a message on Ms Mario's fundraising page as she confirmed her donation.

At that stage, Ms Mario had reached nearly half her £40,000 target.

Swift wrote: "Vitoria, I came across your story online and am so inspired by your drive and dedication to turning your dreams into reality.

"I want to gift you the rest of your goal amount. Good luck with everything you do! Love, Taylor."

Ms Mario said: "I want to thank her with all my heart."

The teenager, whose mother still lives in Portugal, said her family could not afford to support her and she needed the funds to help pay for accommodation, a laptop, textbooks and general living costs.

She said that despite being unable to speak English when she moved to the UK in 2016, she left school with two A*s in maths and an A in physics in her A-levels.

She says she learned English "from Netflix mainly".

Swift has previously made several impromptu donations to fans whose stories she has read about online, including a New York photographer who asked for financial support via Tumblr.

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