The parents of a 10-year-old girl are facing charges in a Bloemfontein court for apparently forcing her to practise sport extensively, the Volksblad newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The mother of the girl was warned that she could face up to 10 years in prison for the charges she faced, the newspaper reported.

The 38-year-old mother of the primary school pupil and her husband, 31, appeared in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on charges of attempted murder and child neglect on Monday.

The magistrate informed the woman that a further charge of assault on a child against her alone carried a minimum prison sentence of 10 years for a first offender.

The attempted murder charge relates to an incident in October last year when the girl had to swim continuously in the Krugerdriftdam, outside Bloemfontein, while her parents were watching from the side.

The report said when the girl was tired of swimming, she was apparently assaulted and forced to swim again.

The child is now in foster care.

The newspaper said the parents' legal counsel had asked the State for further particulars on the charges they faced.