TWO friends have taken their obsession with Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” to extreme lengths — by making a career out of being real-life Ariels.

    As little girls, Jessica Bell, 26, and Amelia Lassetter, 30, both from Australia, would watch the Disney classic on repeat and wished that they could become princesses themselves.

    Now the pair — who are known as Mermaid Jess and Mermaid Amelia — perform on local beaches and swim in tanks alongside sharks and stringrays in their 15-kg silicone tails, worth £1,500 (US$2,000).

    Jessica and Amelia notify their thousands of fans about where they are next performing via social media — and have gained a wide following.

    Jessica, who grew up near the ocean in Perth, Australia, said, “We loved the ocean, so decided to pursue our passion.

    “It’s perfect to meet someone with similar interests. It’s truly special doing it with my best friend — we are like sisters.

    “Our feet are blistered from the tails but it’s worth it. We gave up our feet for fins — the opposite of Ariel.

    “Children watching us swimming truly believe we are real mermaids. It’s just magical. I tell them they can be whatever they want to be if they have an imagination.

    “Amelia and I turned into mermaids because we believed in it.”

    Amelia, who is originally from Cornwall, also fell in love with the sea when she moved to Perth at age 12.

    “We live in such an ocean-loving place, so it’s no surprise that we became interested in it,” she said. “My mother, Barbara, would take me to the beach every day and I’d play in the water. I’d also go on weekly trips to aquariums as a child, and now I work there.”

    The friends met on their first day studying visual arts and photography at Edith Cowan University, western Australia, in 2008.

    Jessica said they were always creatively in-sync and would work on artistic projects together.

    During their studies, Jessica became particularly interested in underwater photography.

    Then, in 2011 the pals decided to style Amelia as a mermaid for a stunning photoshoot on a local beach.

    Spectators were so impressed that Amelia started regularly posing as a mermaid around the coast as Jessica took pictures.

    Six months later, when Amelia became pregnant, the project was put on hold. But in August 2013, soon after having twin boys, who are now 3, she was back in her fish tail — and persuaded Jessica to start posing as a mermaid, too.(SD-Agencies)