A WORCESTERSHIRE teenager proudly carried the Paralympic Torch during the final leg of its journey to the stadium.

Kayleigh Hawkins, aged 17, of Hodges, Evesham, was nominated to take part in the 24-hour torch relay yesterday by Acorns Children’s Hospice. She was chosen for being an inspirational sister after helping to care for her brother Jake before he died last year aged nine from Leigh’s disease, a rare inherited disorder.

Miss Hawkins carried the torch on the stretch between Harrow and Brent at 4.30am as one of a team of five people nominated by the charity. She said: “I only had two hours’ sleep but it was a sensational once-in-a-lifetime experience. The atmosphere was encouraging and overwhelming. Thank you Acorns for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

“When they first told me I couldn’t take it in. It is such a big thing. People always say well done for what you did but to me it was just normal. I woke up every day and did it. He couldn’t walk so I would help get him up and into his wheelchair. It was a normal thing for me to do for my brother.” Her mother Emma Evans said she was very proud of her daughter. She said: “She was an inspiration when she helped care for her brother Jake. “She was there for me and Jake and learnt everything to help me care for him. Everyone thinks she is inspirational.”

The pair are also planning to do a skydive to raise money for the charity on Sunday, September 2, at the Hinton Airfield in North Hampshire. To sponsor them visit justgiving.com/emma-evans9.