A double gold medal-winning Paralympian has visited a Loughton school to inspire disabled youngsters to get into sport.

Davenant Foundation School yesterday welcomed athlete Hannah Cockroft, who won 100m and 200m gold at the 2012 Paralympics.

The 21-year-old held a question and answer session with Year 7 to 9 students before they started a sponsored walk.

They then launched a sporting event featuring students from a number of Essex schools.

Miss Cockroft said: "It's massively important to have days like this so disabled children can go out and find a sport that they like, they find that they're good at sport and they actually get a chance to do it.

“Loads of people, if they're anything like me, will give anything a try anyway so on days like this you’re inspiring the next generation of Paralympians and you might see them in 2020 in Tokyo, you never know.”