A TALENTED baton twirling 11-year-old from Kendal has been crowned national champion in the discipline for the second year in a row.

Maisie Ion, a Kirkbie Kendal pupil and Kendal resident, wowed judges at the British Baton Twirling Sports Association national at the Crawley finals.

And the successes kept on coming, as she was also selected to represent England in the European Championships this summer in the two baton category.

"She's a lot more confident now, definitely," said mum Jackie Hall. "She's ready for the European Championships this year."

Competitors in Maisie's age bracket will be aged between 12-15 and Maisie's summer birthday means she will be a young entrant.

"She will be competing against girls aged 15 so that's a massive achievement for her," said Jackie.

Maisie Ion started attending classes with the Kendal Majorettes when she was just one-year-old.

She began baton twirling when she was five, regularly training with a coach in Bradford and travelling to Luton once a month to train with the rest of the England squad.

"She is very committed," she said. "Because of where we live it's really difficult for her. If we lived in a big city she could probably train with a coach three times a week but instead she's going to Luton and then doing the rest herself so she's really motivated.

"Whenever she has got a spare five minutes she picks her baton up and has a bit of a twirl."

Within the last year Maisie has also started taking lyrical and contemporary dance lessons, which Jackie said have 'really helped' with her baton twirling.

And despite also playing hockey and netball, she is still keeping up with her schoolwork.

"I do not know how she fits it all in," Jackie said.

The European Championships will take place in Dublin from July 4-8 and Maisie will be making the big trip on her own.

"It's her first time flying on her own," Jackie said. "It's quite scary for me really but it's good life experience."

Jackie is hoping to fundraise some of the costs of Maisie's trip and will be holding a coffee morning on June 2 at Kendal Town Hall. You can donate at www.justgiving.giving.com/crowdfunding/europeanbaton