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”.

Mario said: “I didn’t know what to do. Even the message was really nice.

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.