Natasha White will have a much easier time joining the Scouts than her mum.

Tracey White became the first ever girl Scout in England - by accident.

And now her six-year-old daughter is to follow in her footsteps by joining 12th Clacton Scout Group as a Beaver.

Back in 1978, Tracey, 33, of Purley Way, Clacton, and her friend Debbie Arnold decided they wanted to become Scouts.

She explained: "My dad and my father's friend were Scout leaders so we went along to all the meetings and camps.

"We said we were bored with the Guides, all we did was cooking, and we ended up doing more Scout things."

Tracey, who was then 11-year-old Tracey Lawrence, asked if she and Debbie could become Scouts and as the commissioner knew of other girls who had joined, he agreed.

It later turned out that those girls were over 15 and were Venture Scouts from Wales. As Tracey and Debbie had already been invested though there was nothing anyone could do.

"According to the Royal Charter no girls were allowed in the Scouts but as we had been invested they couldn't chuck us out.

"They said we were the first and last girls to become Scouts. We were the first but we weren't the last," she said.

About ten years later the rules changed and girls were admitted.

Now Natasha, who attends Cann Hall Primary School, is set to be invested on March 6.

The Scout connection continues as Tracey met her husband Terry at the group as well and had their wedding blessed at a chapel by the Scout headquarters in Valley Road.

And when their five-year-old son Jordan is old enough he will join. Debbie Arnold, now Debbie Pickard, 35, still lives in Clacton.

In 1978 This Is Essex partner the Gazette reported district commissioner Eddie Hunter as saying of the girls' investiture: "It was a complete mistake on my part. If the county authorities had said to me 'you must throw them out' I would have resigned over the issue."

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