CORSHAM'S swimming pool is being renamed to honour the town's golden girl Stephanie Millward, following her remarkable success at the Rio 2016 Paralympics.

The Paralympian was stunned when she discovered that Wiltshire Council would be celebrating her achievements by renaming the pool at the Springfield community campus the Stephanie Millward MBE swimming pool on February 16.

She said: "I am only doing my job but hopefully I am inspiring the town to do something they love. The pool is not far away from me so I do use it quite a bit.

"Since I have come back (from Rio) I have had the time of my life. I cannot get over the amount of support I have received, it is fantastic.

"I hope that I can inspire a few more youngsters to get in the pool and dream big. I started swimming here when I was 10 and ever since then I have pretty much swam here every week for the last 20 years or so.

"The coaching I had was just fantastic and the staff here are so welcoming, it is a superb place to swim."

Ms Millward, who lives in Box, defied the odds to become one of Team GB's most experienced Paralympic swimmers despite being told she would be confined to a wheelchair after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at just 17.

She went on to claim five medals in Rio, including two golds in the S8 100m backstroke and 4x100m medley relay, taking her medal tally to ten, and now she hopes her success will inspire others. She hopes to continue her Olympic career, despite a setback this year after her funding was cut.

"I found out through a friend who called me to say did you know they are going to rename the pool in Corsham to your name and I was gobsmacked. It is just amazing," she added.

"I get my MBE the day after so I have two events in a row. It is going to be amazing. This doesn't just happen to anyone.

"I am not sure it has sunk in just yet. You have all your hopes and all your goals but this never entered into my wildest dreams.

"I am so honoured that my home town have decided to do this. It has been a whirlwind few months and it just keeps on getting better."

The official naming ceremony will take place on Thursday, February 16.