A YOUNG gymnast has been awarded a grant from a community education fund to help her train to perform at the Olympics.

Lola Brand, of Little Braxted, is a ten-year-old gymnast with the ultimate long-term goal of reaching the Olympics.

She has been awarded a grant of £1,500 from the Little Braxted Community and Educational Fund, which aids projects and promotes educational opportunities.

The grant will help pay for Lola to compete in Malta this summer, building on her recent success in an international gymnastics competition.

Lola's mum Lisa said: “We are so proud of Lola who continues to work towards her dream of one day being a professional gymnast.

“The grant we received from ECF and the Little Braxted Fund has made all the difference to her training, and to us.”

The Little Braxted Community and Educational Fund was established in 2007 with proceeds from the sale of the village’s Victorian schoolhouse.

In 2012, the fund was transferred to the independent charitable trust Essex Community Foundation (ECF) to ensure that it would benefit future generations in the parish of Little Braxted and Wickham Bishops. The area benefiting from the fund has recently been extended to neighbouring villages and the surrounding rural areas.

So far, the fund has awarded a total of £60,512 in grants. One of the first was a major allocation of £35,000 towards an extension of the Great Braxted Pavilion.

Grants have also been given to Wickham Bishops Over 60s Club, The Braxted Neighbourhood Watch Coffee Morning, Great Braxted Parish Council to install outdoor gym equipment for residents and Little Braxted Parish Council to run a weekly litter picking service.

Caroline Taylor, ECF's chief executive, said: “This fund is a fantastic financial resource for the local community and we want to encourage more applications that we can support.

“Grants can be awarded to voluntary and community organisations for the general benefit of people in the parish of Little Braxted and surrounding areas, including scout and guide groups and can also be extended to promote educational opportunities.”

ECF works with a panel of residents to discuss and agree all applications to the fund.

Visit www.essexcommunityfoundation.org.uk