A Sandbach teenager has gone for gold and retained her title in judo and is now appealing for a business to help her reach her next goal – the Olympics.

Talented 15-year-old Milly Horsfield has won gold, retaining her title, at the English Open Judo Championships over the weekend.

Now the youngster, a student at Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College, and a member of the SKK Judo Club, is appealing for a business to sponsor her to make the Olympic dream come true.

Milly has been doing judo since she was six years old and trains several times a week, alongside doing her GCSE studies at school in Sandbach.

She has a string of medals to her name, including British Champion, England Open Champion, Welsh Open Champion and represented England at the Commonwealth Judo Championships.

Milly's story started as a youngster when she went to watch her brother Ollie doing judo and caught the bug herself.

Now she trains with top judo competitors at SKK Judo Club in Newton-le-Willows and is hoping to compete for her country in the Olympics.

She said: " I started Judo at the age of six at an after school judo club and went on to attend Shavington Judo club as well.

"I entered my first competition , Manchester and Cheshire open at the age of eight and won every fight to take the gold medal.

"As a result, I was invited to join the North West Region Development squad and my journey started from there.

"Since then, I've competed in and won many competitions throughout the UK and Europe.

"I regularly compete at competitions all over the UK - all of this is self-funded.

"I spend my 'free' time helping to coach younger Judoka at Sandbach Judo Club and I'm also working towards gaining my coaching certificates."

Milly says she is enjoying competing but says travel costs are starting to increase.

"The travel costs especially are starting to increase, and although these are not excessive by most sporting standards, they build up - so I now have to start to look at getting sponsorship to help me continue on the GB Judo pathway and follow my dreams," she said.

Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College and Sandbach Judo Club have both praised Milly for her amazing achievements.

Her form teacher, David Evans, said: "Milly is highly thought of at school and is clearly very talented.

"She works so hard and fits in her training with her school work and is doing so well, especially as it's her GCSE year."

Robin Sadler, head coach at Sandbach Judo Club said: "We have enjoyed having Milly attend the club for over four years.

"She is both a player on the mat but also an excellent mentor for the younger players.

"Milly's attitude to Judo is excellent - she has trained extremely hard through Covid, completing difficult lone training sessions and then hit the mats hard after the restrictions have been lifted

"Her attitude to the sport mentally and physically is very mature. She has become one of our junior coaches, passing on both her skills and enthusiasm to the younger players."

Businesses interested in sponsoring Milly can contact her by email at [email protected].

Milly has a sponsorship document detailing her success and a breakdown of travel expenses which can be emailed.