A YOUNG dancer has become an all-England champion in three separate categories.

Seven-year-old Anna Reed, of Darlington, competed in front of hundreds of people at the Peacock Theatre in London's West End recently and became All England champion in the under-sevens age range for tap, modern and in the song and dance category.

The budding theatre star, a pupil at the Jackie Wilson school of dance in Middlesbrough, had been through a series of local and regional heats, where she had to qualify with honours to get through to the national championships, which are held once every two years.

Her proud father, Sean, said: "What she has done is a massive achievement - she has worked extremely hard to get there.

"Her mum - my wife Gill - is a dance teacher so that has helped, but she does work very hard."

Anna hopes eventually to go to theatre school and become a singing or dancing star.