A 16-YEAR-OLD blind schoolgirl will carry the Olympic torch.

Mehreen Akhtar, a pupil at Moor End Academy in Crosland Moor, is training as an elite cross country athlete and wants to represent the UK in future Paralympics.

But before then she’ll be getting a taste for the Olympics by carrying the torch.

Huddersfield will get the flame on Sunday June 24. It will set off from Greenhead Park on a route which takes it through the town to Brighouse and other parts of West Yorkshire.

But, by then, Mehreen will already have carried it on part of the route between Hull and York on June 19.

Mehreen lives in Crosland Moor. She is the daughter of Mrs Parveen Akhtar and Mr Allaha Ditta and she has a 12-year-old sister, Lybah.

Mehreen said: “I am shocked because it was me who was chosen and honoured to represent myself, my school and my town.’’

Moor End assistant principal Debra Awty said: “Mehreen considers herself to be a normal teenager who happens to have no sight. She is truly inspirational as she immerses herself in both academy and community life without letting circumstances dictate what she can and can’t do.

“She is cheerful, polite and friendly, has a great sense of humour and never fails to impress all those who meet her.

“Mehreen has an incredibly positive attitude and is extremely enthusiastic.

“She enjoys taking part in many sporting activities and has won awards for climbing when she was younger.

“She has been talent spotted at a county disability athletics event and has taken up a new challenge to train as an elite cross country athlete and wants to represent her country in future Paralympics.’’

Mehreen is supported at Moor End Academy through the Visual Impairment Unit.

VIU lead teacher Mrs Margaret Cumberland said: “This very special young lady never lets her disability hold her back, making her a positive role model who has a zest for life to take the future by storm, making the most of every opportunity that comes her way.

“She is extremely excited about the opportunity to be an Olympic Torchbearer.’’

Mehreen is a gifted pupil academically and her Key Stage 2 SAT achievements placed her in the top 5% of the country in 2007.

She was born with the eye condition glaucoma and as a result has had to endure several operations as a child to stabilise the condition, but in 1999 there was further deterioration and Mehreen was left with just light perception.

She still has to take eye drops daily to control the pressure in her eyeballs and is monitored by an ophthalmologist at Leeds General Infirmary.

Every Saturday she attends the Actionnaires visually impaired sporting club in Huddersfield. The club meets every second and fourth Saturday from 10am until 12pm at Huddersfield Sports Centre.

Mehreen has produced a special booklet which details how she maps her way around Moor End, explaining how different smells, temperatures and textures on the floor helped her to define different places around the school and highlighting issues which could be improved to help visually impaired pupils.