AN East Lancashire schoolgirl is set to follow in her brothers’ footsteps by playing ice hockey at the highest level later this summer.

Lydia Lutwyche, who is in Year 9 at Oakhill School, Whalley, has been chosen to represent Great Britain in the under-16s Ice Hockey World Championships in August this year.

Her ice hockey skills were described as "outstanding" and the main reason behind her selection for the u16s, meaning she will be playing two years above her age group.

The Lutwyche family is no stranger to ice hockey success, as Lydia’s brothers, Jacob and Alex, who are ex-Oakhill School students, play ice hockey for the Blackburn Hawks.

Jacob also represented both the U16 and U18 Great Britain teams in the Biennial Ball Hockey World Championships and played against strong teams from countries including USA, Canada and Switzerland.

Lydia said: “It’s an honour to be chosen to represent Great Britain’s U16s at the Hockey World Championships this year.

“Ice hockey has always been a huge passion of mine, so I’m looking forward to turning my passion into a greater opportunity.”

Oakhill’s ice hockey connection continued this week as Year 2 pupil, Juliet, was the winner of Jacob's shirt at the Blackburn Hawks v Sheffield Scimitars game.

Juliet was lucky enough to win Alex’s player's team shirt in a raffle and hopes that one day she will be "big enough to wear it".

Jane Buttery, Oakhill principal, said: “As a school, we are very proud of Lydia’s achievement of making it to represent Great Britain worldwide.

“Sport is very important to us at Oakhill and we always encourage pupils to excel at sport related activities.

“Sports gives our students the opportunity to be active, which has many benefits on the physical, social and mental health of a young person.

“We always encourage students to be active and have some fun when partaking in sporting events.”