Lillie Townley is hoping she can scale new heights – as she is in the top 20 in the UK for climbing in her age group.

And the Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic High School student is hoping she can improve on this next month by clinching a spot in the Great Britain finals.

Year Seven student Lillie has been climbing for four years and has already competed all around the UK.

“It started as my aunty worked at Burnley Campus and they had a climbing wall,” said Lillie. “I had a go, started going every Saturday morning and I took it from there.”

Lillie moved onto Preston and is now a member of the academy at Boulder UK, an indoor climbing centre in Blackburn, where she is coached by Gill Peet, a former member of the British Climbing Team.

“I just love it,” said Lillie. “It is all about how high you can go. I competed in the British final in Edinburgh last year in the 10/11 age group and finished 20th in the UK which I was proud of.

“I had gone through three regional rounds and I finished second overall in the North West.”

Lillie shows no fear and has scaled 25m walls in Stockport and competed in the prestigious Edinburgh International Climbing Arena.

“The British team selection is in Liverpool next month and I would love to get into the British team for the 11/12 age group. That would be a huge achievement for me.”