TWO girls who play water polo with the Catterick Cobras have won their way into national squads this past week.

Charlotte Hanson, 17, from Aysgarth, has been selected for the senior women's squad and 13-year-old Francesca Clayton, from Healey, near Masham, is the youngest to win a place in the junior squad.

Charlotte had just returned from the European Youth Water Polo Championships in Holland, where the British team finished a very creditable ninth, when she and Francesca were invited to an assessment weekend at Manchester.

This was initially for the British under-19 junior squad and it was assumed that, for Francesca, this was just an introductory session with a view to her eventually becoming part of the development squad.

"We are delighted," said Judi Clayton, Francesca's mother, who captained the British women's team for five years and now teaches and coaches at Catterick as well as being the North East Counties development officer for the sport.

"Francesca is the youngest one to get into the junior squad and was the youngest goalscorer in the women's national league when she was 11 years old," added Mrs Clayton.

For Charlotte's parents the impact of their daughter's achievement is just sinking in.

"She'll be training 20 hours a week, both at college and at the weekends, mainly at Manchester," said her father, Harry Hanson.

She is likely to go to Hungary with the senior squad and to Spain and Italy with the juniors this year.

Both girls play in the national league with Harrogate and Ripon Shortwalkers and will be representing the county teams at Portobello in Scotland on September 27.

Francesca attends Bedale School and Charlotte, a former pupil at St Francis Xavier School in Richmond, now attends Grantham College as part of the first water polo academy in Britain. She is studying graphic design there