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Girl, 11, becomes youngest MBE in King's Honours

PA A smiling Carmela Chillery-Watson walking with two colourful spotty walking sticks. She is wearing a red long-sleeved Spiderman outfit beneath a Navy blue vest bearing the Julia's House charity logo.PA
Carmela has walked and wheeled hundreds of miles to raise money for charity

A 11-year-old girl who has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity is set to become the youngest MBE in the King's Birthday Honours.

Carmela Chillery-Watson, from Dorset, has LMNA congenital muscular dystrophy - a progressive muscle-wasting condition.

She has walked and wheeled hundreds of miles to raise funds for Muscular Dystrophy UK and Julia's House Hospice, often dressed in superhero costumes.

She said she was "ecstatic and surprised" to be made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to charitable fundraising.

PA A smiling Carmela Chillery-Watson wearing an orange Muscular Dystrophy UK charity t-shirt. She is standing next to a white wall covered in different charity logos and is pointing to the Muscular Dystrophy UK logo.PA
Carmela teaches exercises online to help others with disabilities

Carmela, originally from Wiltshire, was diagnosed with the condition in 2017, aged three, and has since taken on 25 fundraising and awareness campaigns.

Her Wonder Woman Walk in 2020 involved her walking 1km (0.6 miles) and wheeling a further 9km (1.6 miles) in her wheelchair every day for a month, covering 300km (186 miles) across 30 different locations in Cornwall, Somerset, Wiltshire and Surrey.

Last year she completed a 100-mile (161km) challenge along the Jurassic Coast in Dorset.

When asked which was her favourite, she said: "I have to say, I love all of them. They are all so fun."

Carmela also teaches exercises online to help others with disabilities and has helped people from as far away as Africa and the US.

The Government believes Carmela is the youngest ever MBE, although its historical records are incomplete.

The previous record was held by Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds, who was made an MBE in 2009, aged 14.

PA A smiling Carmela Chillery-Watson wearing a grey sweatshirt and an open blue denim jacket. She has long brown hair tied back with a fringe.PA
Carmela's next challenge is to raise money for specialist toilets at her school

Carmela said: "I never thought anything like this would happen.

"I just want to make a difference to the disability community, to be able to show them - you're strong, you can do whatever you want."

Carmela's mother, Lucy, said she was "bursting with pride".

"Since the moment she was born she showed true resilience and determination. She's making a huge difference in the world," she said.

Carmela's next challenge is her so-called "Poo Plod" on 23 June, when she will walk and wheel five miles dressed as a toilet, with her mum dressed as a poo, to raise money to buy specialist toilets for her school in Poole.

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