TALENTED young gymnast Evah Byrne is supporting her gymnastics club ‘over and over again’ during the lockdown – by cartwheeling a total of 12-and-a-half miles.

Nine-year-old Evah, of Hurworth, near Darlington, has set out to complete 250 cartwheels a day over 26 days.

That equates to the distance from her home to Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre, where she is a keen member of the acro class at Athena Sports Academy.

By the time Evah has completed her mission, she’ll have done 6,666 cartwheels to help the club which, like many grassroots sporting organisations, is facing financial challenges during the coronavirus pandemic.

Her dad, Dave, said: “Anyone who knows Evah will be aware that she spends most of her life upside down, so we thought we might as well put it to good use. We’re really proud of the way she’s stuck to the task every day.”

Evah, a pupil at Hurworth Primary School, has so far clocked up 2,750 cartwheels over 11 days, so she has another fortnight of cartwheeling to go before she reaches her target distance.

Her original aim was to raise £350 but she has already surpassed the £500 mark on her JustGiving page.

Dave explained that he and his wife, Sherri, had been discussing how the family could help the gymnastics club while also achieving something memorable to look back on after the lockdown.

“The idea of the cartwheels came up and Evah was all for it,” said Dave, who is coach and manager of the Hurworth Albion under-13s football team, and is a passionate believer in the importance of sporting activity to boost both physical and mental well-being.

Evah, who has an 11-year-old brother, Hayden, won a ‘rising star’ award at Athena Sports Academy at the end of last year.

“I’m really missing gymnastics and I just wanted to do something to help so that I’ve got a club to go back to,” she said. “I was a bit dizzy the first couple of times, but I’m used to it now.”

• To support Evah, go to www.justgiving.com and search for “Help Athena Sports Academy”.