American-born athlete Shante Little says it would be “amazing” to represent Great Britain on the world stage.

The 400 metres runner and hurdler, whose mother Dannielle was born in Colchester, is one of five foreign-born athletes who this week have been made eligible to represent Team GB.

Victoria Dronsfield, Zharnel Hughes, Cindy Ofili and Montene Speight have also been cleared to compete for Britain at this summer’s World Championships and next year’s Rio Olympics, if selected.

And the decision to allow foreign-born competitors to represent Britain has sparked fresh controversy, with some athletes expressing their concern.

Little, 22, who is currently at her training base in Phoenix, Arizona, says she understands the reaction surrounding the issue.

But she insists she is “humbled and very grateful” to have the opportunity to compete for Great Britain.

She told the Daily Gazette: “I’m humbled and very grateful to be able to represent Great Britain.

“I’m looking forward to representing a country for whom athletics is held in high regard.

“Athletics is a highly-respected sport here and it is treated as such.

“It is taken seriously, it means something.

“I understand the controversy behind foreign-born competitors representing Great Britain.

“I’m just honoured to have been given the opportunity to be eligible and I’m very thankful for it.

“It would be amazing to represent Great Britain on the world’s stage.”

Although she has never lived in Colchester before, Little has strong links with the town.

Her mother was born and raised there before moving to the United States in her late teens, with her parents.

Little still has a large number of relatives in Colchester and has been a regular visitor to north Essex, for the majority of her life.

“My aunt and uncle, Annette and John Murphy, live in the south-western part of town, in the Gosbecks Farm area,” said Little, who is set to compete at the National Championships in Birmingham at the start of July.

“My great-grandmother, my other aunts and uncles, and cousins also all live in town.

“I’ve always loved Colchester - I have a lot of great memories from my visits and I’m really looking forward to being back soon.

“It’s always good to see family and I was most recently back two summers ago.

“I actually did quite a bit of training while I was there and the man who ran the gym at the Arena was beyond helpful.”