A Paralympic gold medal winning swimmer has made the King's New Years Honours list.

The list recognises the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom.

Paralympic gold medal winning local swimmer, Poppy Maskill, who was given Freedom of Middlewich at a ceremony in the town where she originally hailed from as we revealed here, has been awarded an MBE for services to swimming.

Poppy Maskill with her former coach Phil Balcombe. (Photo: Phil Balcombe)

The medal winning Poppy, originally from Middlewich, won three golds and two silver medals at the Paris games earlier this year but her talents were spotted years ago when she started swimming in Alsager. 

Poppy's former coach, Phil Balcombe, said: "It's recognition for all the hard work Poppy has put in over the last 10 years." 

Phil coached Poppy from mid-2015 when she was just 10 years old until March 2023 when she was 18 and already a world champion as we revealed here . Poppy trained with Alsager Swimming Club, based at Alsager Leisure Centre, for many years.

He said previously: "I thought Poppy had the right ingredients to be a good swimmer from day one, but only after she was classified in 2018 did I start to think she would go all the way to the top.  

"Poppy is a very modest swimmer. Very few of her teammates resented her success and I think they all benefited from her being on the team. She would even turn up early and help coach the younger swimmers."

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