3ft 8ins model fed up of being sexualised for free takes control starts OnlyFans to earn up to $400 weekly

A 3ft 8ins model fed up of "being sexualised for free" started an OnlyFans to "make men pay for the privilege" - and is raking in up to $400-a-week sharing lingerie snaps.

Caitlin Hellyer, 22, has achondroplasia dwarfism - a bone growth disorder caused by a genetic mutation in the arms and legs - but she refuses to let her short stature hold her back.

She struggled to find clothes small enough to fit her when growing up and was fed up of having to choose between children's clothes with "Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol on them" so she launched her own fashion blog.

Caitlin aimed to use it to show other 'little people' her fashion finds and it has amassed over 10k followers.

But, she says, the blog attracts as many as 25 men a day messaging the full-time marketing student - wanting to talk to her and asking for more sexy selfies.

She found it "annoying" so she decided to give the people what they want - but make them pay for the privilege.

She only launched the page as a side hustle in June but has made as much as $400 in a week - without sharing anything more provocative than a lingerie photo.

Caitlin, from Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, said: "I was just doing fashion posts, but I was getting all these messages from men.

"My boyfriend suggested OnlyFans initially - and I thought instead of allowing men to fetishise me for free, they should have to pay for it.

"The glamour modelling wasn’t me at all at the beginning, I had to get used to it.

"But I've had a positive response from other little people - saying it's cool that I'm doing it.

"The most important thing to me is to give other little people a platform to be confident in society."

Caitlin was born with achondroplasia - a mutation of the FGFR 3 growth gene and the most common form of dwarfism.

She got into OnlyFans after years of fashion blogging on her Instagram @asliceofcait - where she shares her favourite clothes for other people with dwarfism.

With the growing fashion platform had come some unwanted attention - hordes of men who wanted to talk to her and see more pictures.

She would even sometimes receive unsolicited images from men, and says she seemed to be sexualised whatever she posted.

Caitlin said: "There were so many men following me who would send unsolicited pictures.

"They’d spam me and try to call me - they were asking for stuff for free.

"I never saw it as positive, it's really quite annoying and condescending."

Caitlin had never thought to use OnlyFans until her boyfriend, Guy Pritchard, 32, a marine engineer officer, suggested it.

She said: "What's crazy is I could be wearing a turtleneck jumper, tights and a coat, and I'd still get sexualised.

"So, if I'm posting pictures in bikinis and underwear, instead of allowing men to fetishise me for free, they should have to pay for it."

Caitlin launched her OnlyFans page - which now has 40-odd subscribers paying $10-a-month each.

Now, she never has to engage with the men who appear in her DMs wanting to chat - she can just send a subscription link.

Guy looks over her account with her, so she never has to deal with any men she doesn't feel comfortable talking to.

While some weeks she doesn't make much money, other weeks she can make up to $400 dollars.

She said: "Sometimes I do pay per view videos in an outfit but nothing I'm uncomfortable with.

"You have to keep the subscribers in somehow."

She said her driving factor for all of her online platforms is to "give other little people a platform to be confident in society" - after she grew up being bullied for her dwarfism.

She added: "Why not cater to what you’ve got and show people you can have confidence with a short stature?

"Hopefully the more people see of little people, the less discrimination there will be.

"I've had people from school try to follow me and say well done for doing so well, when back 10 years ago they would belittle me.

"I just don't entertain it now."