Blackpool schoolgirl urges people to show more compassion towards others

Mya Worden, 13, a pupil at St Mary's catholic academy, spends her spare time volunteering with the SCOT group in Kirkham and attending Blackpool police cadets.

The SCOT group is a volunteer-run organisation that provides support to teenagers and adults with learning disabilities.

Mya and her parents, Emma and Stan Worden, all volunteer with the group, and mum Emma said she is incredibly proud of her daughter for the work she does there.

She said: "Mya really does make us so proud, she has so much empathy and kindness.

"She's showing other children her age that it's important to look after others."

In September, Mya joined Blackpool police cadets, to follow the dream she has had of becoming a police officer since the age of four.

She also wants to foster children one day, to "show them love and kindness as they may have been through a bad time."

Mya's parents work at Warren Manor day centre in Anchorsholme, where she also volunteers during school holidays.

She said: "I love volunteering with the SCOT group and Warren Manor, it's so much fun and I like being able to help where I can.

"The volunteering I also do with the police cadets is good because I get to do things for the community."

Mya wants to encourage other children her age to volunteer within their communities, because the world needs to be "more loving and respectful."

She has also decided to use her pocket money leading up to Christmas to buy gifts to donate to Streetlife in Blackpool.

Nobody should be homeless, and she has everything she needs so wants to give back to those less fortunate, she said.