An eight-year-old girl from San Francisco has been taken into care after her mother injected her with Botox.

Kerry Campbell said she gave her daughter Britney the drug to make her look better in child beauty pageants.

"A lot of the moms there are giving their kids Botox, I'm not the only one who does it," said Ms Campbell.

She is being investigated by US welfare services and Britney has been removed from her custody.

When she does her smile she has lines and a few times that we did it [Botox], it would lessen the lines. We don't do so much to her that it makes a big difference anyway Kerry Campbell

The eight-year-old said Botox was a painful procedure.

"It hurts," she explained in an interview with the US network ABC. "I just don't think wrinkles are nice on little girls."

She said the treatment made her look "way better, beautiful, pretty - all those nice words".

It's not illegal to inject a child with Botox in the US as it can be used to treat certain medical conditions, including neurological disorders.

Trent Rhorer, from the San Francisco Human Services Department, investigated the case and says removing a child is the last resort.

He said: "I would trust a social worker's judgement because the reports from the doctors we consulted with say there is a very serious risk to a kid subjected to Botox injections."

'Tough' pageants

According to Kerry Campbell her daughter complained about wrinkles on her face.

"It's not all the time. When she goes to wash her hands she'll look in the mirror and be like, 'Mommy I have a wrinkle,'" said Kerry.

"It's a tough world in the pageant and the kids are harsh. Being confident is something she has to be with them."

Botox is one way for her to stand out, according to Britney's mother.

"When she does her smile she has lines and a few times that we did it, it would lessen the lines.

"We don't do so much to her that it makes a big difference anyway."

The part-time beautician injected her daughter herself, but she refused to say where she got the drugs.

"I'd rather not put it out there. I have a trusted source where I get it. He is behind the doctor scene and everything."