'Wonderful words of encouragement': Shropshire youngster inspired after bumping into actor Tom Hardy

Wrekin College’s Sydney Purchase recently became county champion in 70m hurdles while also clinching second place in the 100m and 200m races.

And it followed national success as she claimed two gold medals at the Jujitsu Reorg Championships held at Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton where she met Peaky Blinders star Hardy who was quick to congratulate her on her success.

Sydney, from Much Wenlock, said: "It was a wonderful experience to meet Tom Hardy who was also competing at Reorg.

"We met at a previous event and he always has some wonderful words of encouragement for fellow competitors and particularly the younger ones who might be at the start of their journey.”

On her success, she added: “I love being active and really enjoy training and being able to compete regularly at a high level.

“It takes a lot of commitment and support because it can mean a lot of travelling to training and events but I do love it all.

"I have real ambitions to take this all the way and continue to compete at a national level while also aiming to compete at an international level.

The 13-year-old also praised her family and school for supporting her ambitions.

“I am very lucky to have the support I do and I do feel very proud to be able to represent my school at various competitions and be a part of a team,” she added.

She is also an extremely popular guitarist and singer performing as MetalSyd and attracting thousands of views on social media.

Headmaster of Wrekin College Tim Firth heaped praise on the youngster saying she was determined to challenge herself, always looking for opportunities to put her own personal best to the test.

“We are extremely proud of all that Sydney has already achieved and really look forward to seeing what she takes on next. It seems there is not much that she tries that she doesn’t succeed at and she also approaches it all with great positivity,” he added.

Sydney said she was searching for sponsors who might be willing to back her bid for further national and international success and urged anyone interested to visit her Facebook page Metalsyd.