A BLACKBURN cheer-leader is celebrating helping the national team reach their highest ever rank at the recent World Cheerleading Championships.

Danielle Oddie, 20, from the Beardwood area of Blackburn, was one of 14 cheerleaders in Team UK who came sixth out of 16 countries when the championships were held in Florida on April 26 and 27.

First prize went to a team from Japan.

The former St Wilfrid's High School pupil, who is now a trainee accountant at PM and M Chartered Accountants in East Park Road, Blackburn, said she was "very, very pleased" with the team's achievement.

Leading up to the championships, Danielle spent seven hours a day at the weekend preparing.

She said: "It feels like all the hard work has paid off.

"We had a new coach for the competition - Spiela - who oversaw Slovenia's World Championship win two years ago, and we really benefitted from her skills at choreography."

There were compulsory elements in the sequences such as pirouettes, jumps, kicks, tumbling, dance and cheering.

Danielle has been cheerleading for eight years and spends her spare time helping coach at Blackburn Panthers based in King Street.

Danielle's £1,000 entry fees for the competition were paid for by her bosses at PM and M Chartered Accountants.