AYSGARTH teenager Charlotte Hanson was catching up on her sleep on Wednesday after winning a place in the Great Britain ladies youth water polo team which will take part in the European championships this summer.

The 17-year-old has been a member of the Great Britain squad for two seasons, but was chosen for the final team after a week's intensive training and several international matches.

The matches, held at Millfield School in Somerset last week, were against France and the English and British senior women's teams.

Charlotte, a former pupil at St Francis Xavier School in Richmond, will travel with the team to Portugal on May 1 for international matches against France and the host nation.

Also in May she will attend training sessions in Scotland as the team prepares for further international matches, including the European Ladies Youth Water Polo championships in Holland in August.

She is a member of Catterick Cobras water polo club, which trains every Friday night at the Catterick pool. She also plays for Harrogate and Ripon Shortwalkers in the women's national league.

Charlotte now attends Grantham College, where she is a member of the country's first water polo academy.

This allows her to combine her academic studies in graphic design with expert water polo tuition from Jim Caulfield, who coached last year's English ladies team to a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.