A FATHER was left stunned when he discovered his 10-year-old daughter’s bizarre talent for pronouncing words – backwards.

Michael Bailey was enjoying a walk with his family when Constance shocked them by revealing her unusual talent.

The 44-year-old and his wife Rachael, 43, started to test their daughter with simple words which she fired back in seconds.

And they were left gobsmacked when she then pronounced difficult words like ‘hospital’ and ‘helicopter’ backwards without any effort.

Mr Bailey, from Monkseaton, North Tyneside, said: “I started to give her more and more difficult words and she fired them back. We were ridiculously amazed.

“I was absolutely speechless, I couldn’t believe it.

“We are not talking ‘dog’ and ‘sun’. Words like ‘chocolate’ are no problem to her. I can’t even begin to say that backwards.”

Constance, who has a younger brother Jet, five, said she started trying to pronounce words backwards in her head while reading books.

The pupil at Wellfield Middle School, in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, said she “confused” her parents when she told them.

She said: “I just looked at every word and decided to read it backwards and I gradually got better and better.

“I have been practising a bit, but not for that long. I think it’s quite good, I think it’s quite cool that I can do something that most people can’t do.

“I confused them but I think it’s a good thing. I didn’t think that many people would want to find out about it.”

Constance is able to pronounce most words backwards, providing she is able to spell them, including tricky words such as ‘amazing’, ‘dinosaur’ and ‘beautiful’ with little effort.

Mr Bailey was left so baffled by his daughter’s ability he started to look it up on the internet and discovered she had been blessed with a rare talent.

Mrs Bailey, a software designer, said: “I am amazed, I didn’t at first realise how unique it was.

“It wasn’t until Michael put a status about it on Facebook that we realised it was quite an unusual talent.

“I’m really proud, she’s kind of got a thirst for it. She wants to be tested all the time since she told us.

“It just came out of nowhere, she enjoys doing it. I was surprised by some of the words she is able to do. It’s a unique talent.

“She was saying them back too quickly to be able to read them. It’s the speed that shocks me, it’s astounding really.”

Mr Bailey, a digital marketer, added: “At first it was a bit hard to take in, it’s so bizarre.

“I’m really proud of her, it shows she’s got a good understanding of words. If her brain is wired to do that, I’m intrigued as to what else she can do because of it.”