A CHARITY catapult competition has been held in honour of a little girl who has already had to undergo two operations in her short life.

Three-year-old Tilly Cummings, was born with hole on the aortic valve to her heart, as well as stomach problems.

She has already undergone major surgery to her stomach and doctors have said the youngster may need a further operation when she is older to close the hole.

At the weekend, members of the UK Catapult Association met in her hometown of Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, to take part in a fundraising event for the British Heart Foundation.

Tilly’s father, Dean Cummings, who organised the event at Birtley Community Centre, said: “They thought it was a murmur, but it is a hole on the aortic valve which attaches to her heart.

“It is in an awkward place and as she grows it is not going to close, it is going to open.

“The doctors have said they may possibly have to operate in the future to close that hole.

“I wanted to raise money in case that is something that has to happen.”

People came from Wakefield, Sheffield and as far as Belgium to take part in the event, which included five events, expert displays, trick shots, practices and junior contests.

Mr Cummings, from Birtley, who works as a security guard at the Metrocentre in Gateshead, lives with his wife Amy, 31, a party co-ordinator at the Giants’ Den play centre on the Team Valley Trading Estate in Gateshead.

He got into the sport after his son, Brandon, 13, took an interest.

Mr Cummings said: “My son, for his ninth birthday, asked me if he could have a catapult and I thought back to when I was a kid how I used to shoot them with my friends.

“So I said ‘yes’ but only to shoot with me and I said ‘I’ll get you one and I’ll get one myself’.

“We started shooting dried peas at cans and it was just father-son stuff.

“I started really getting in to it and I found out that there was this whole organisation and community.

“A couple of people saw me shooting and said I might want to look to getting into competitions and it went from there.”

Catapults users at the Birtley event were firing 9.5mm steel balls.

Mr Cummings, who is also a UKCA committee member, added: “When people think about catapults, they think of it as a kids’ toy but these events feature things you would not believe can be shot with a catapult.

“They have been hitting things like Polo mints hung from 20 metres.”