HER love affair with the stiletto is legendary, but fashion goddess Victoria Beckham may soon find herself wearing something a little less flattering on her feet - bandages.

The singer has told friends her bunions are now so bad she is seriously considering having an operation to remove them.

Posh herself has admitted her passion for fashion has a downfall.

"I always wear stilettos, but they have given me awful feet," she says. "I hate my feet, they are the most disgusting thing about me.

"Part of the reason I wear such amazing shoes is to take the eye away from my horrid feet and on to the stunning shoes."

Bunions are a deformity of the big toe joint, which grows at an angle to the foot, and are the bane of style-conscious women the world over.

Michelle Davies, 44, of Bullwood Lane, Hockley, has every sympathy for Posh's plight, having had her own bunions operated on last October at the Phoenix Hospital, in Fairfax Drive, Westcliff.

"It has been fantastic since I had it done," Michelle reveals.

"My foot was completely misshapen and I had what looked like a growth on the side of my foot.

"It was a complaint I have had for a very long time, no doubt because of wearing bad shoes," she says. "It also gave me quite a lot of pain, so in the end I took the plunge and had the op."

Remarkably, Michelle was awake for the whole operation, with just her foot numbed by anaesthethic.

"It was a bit daunting. Although I couldn't feel anything I could see and hear what was happening, especially when they were drilling. But I am so glad I had it done. Before I really hated my feet.

"There were so many beautiful shoes I wanted to wear. Jimmy Choos and the like, but where my foot was misshapen it would push out the side of the shoe and make the show misshapen too."

Michelle was laid up for two to three days and it was a couple of weeks before she was able to walk properly following the surgery.

She says: "I think I was born to wear high heels, but often the pain would be too much. Now my shoes are so much more comfortable and I am so glad I had it done."

Her operation was carried out by consultant podiatric surgeon Dr Robert Hardie, who offers hope to shoe lovers everywhere.

"The whole idea of shoes causing bunions is a controversial one," he admits.

"In actual fact, we do not know what causes them.

"There are a lot of factors to look at, whether it is hereditary, or whether it is connected to other foot problems such as the way the foot flattens when you walk. If you don't know the cause then it is very difficult to prevent."

According to Dr Hardie, bunions can affect anyone at any age.

He says: "A bunion is actually a soft tissue swelling which causes a burr on the toe joint, but people often refer to bunions as the deformity caused when the big toe goes over and pushes towards the little toe. This is known as hallux valgus."

Dr Hardie continues: "You can treat it conservatively with the use of splints, particularly in the young. You can operate or live with it."

Surgery takes around 25 to 45 minutes.

Dr Hardie says: "It is possible to realign the metatarsal, by cutting through and moving the toe back into place and creating a wedge under the toe to straighten it."

Although for many, the cosmetic benefits of having the operation are plenty, Dr Hardie says: "Before treatment people have normally had it for years and a lot of people develop bunion problems.

"The main reason for someone to have surgery is because of the pain they are experiencing.

"The surgery will give improvement in the appearance of the foot, but also in its function.

"That function may not return 100 per cent, but we aim to get the toe working again as well as it can."