A STAR Paralympian who represented Great Britain at five games has been honoured at a special awards ceremony.

Ann Wild, of The Glade, South Woodford, received the Outstanding Achievement Award from Brunel University where she graduated in occupational therapy in 2002.

The 36-year-old captained the nation's wheelchair basketball team for 15 years after making her international début aged just 13.

The determined athlete said she never let her disability hold her back even at a very young age.

She said: “I got quite tired of seeing other kids running around the playground playing games and knowing that I could do things better than them.

“So I went off trying to find a sports club and my parents were very supportive so I never looked back.”

Britain won a total of 42 gold, 29 silver and 31 bronze medals at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games to finish second in the medal table.

Ann played her part despite having a stress injury to her left wrist and receiving extensive treatment alongside Paula Radcliffe at the Olympic Medical Institute.

And she urged more resources to be ploughed into finding the next generation of athletes saying: “I think that we could always do better.

"We have a great sport and recreation team in the borough who do a fantastic job.

“But there could always be more support for disabled sports and funding can be a problem.”

Never one to take things easily Ann has now taken up rowing and can regularly be seen training at the London Regatta Training Centre in Docklands.

She now hopes to return to international competition in the sport. She said: “I don't know about future Paralympic Games but maybe.

“I'm skulling at the moment and hopefully I will make a team in the future. I'm always very tenatious and I wouldn't enjoy it unless I have a good try at things.”