Schoolgirl Amber is going for gold

An east London schoolgirl is today carrying the Olympic hopes of the nation.

Amber Charles, 14, from East Ham, is flying to the International Olympic Committee's HQ in Lausanne to deliver London's 2012 candidate file - the document which forms Britain's Olympic blueprint. The junior international basketball player said: "It's a real honour to be part of something so massive."

In submitting the candidate file, Amber kick-starts eight months of lobbying by London 2012 to convince the 124 IOC members to give the Games to the UK. Amber was picked from thousands of children with the help of Sport England and the Youth Games. Last summer Amber competed in the London Youth Games and hopes to represent her country at the 2012 Games.