Six-year-old girl with muscular dystrophy walks 10km a day dressed as favourite superhero Wonder Woman
A six-year-old girl who has been walking 10 kilometres a day for a month dressed as her favourite super hero Wonder Woman has finished her remarkable fundraising effort.
Carmela Chillory-Watson, who has muscular dystrophy, has raised more than £12,000 for charity - doubling her original target.
Her incredible feat even got the attention of the actress who plays Wonder Woman in the new film, Gal Gadot.
Lilly Aspell, who plays the junior version of the heroine, also sent Carmela a message of support.
Carmela's mum says she is "so proud" of her daughter's achievement, and added: "She struggles with weak muscles, she's going to lose the ability to walk, so this for her and for me is a huge personal achievement and gain and memory to look back on."
Carmela, who is a massive fan of Wonder Woman, says she would love to meet her heroine who inspires her to, 'keep fighting to stay strong and fight on'.
She came up with the idea of covering the equivalent of the 2,000km distance from her home near Devizes in Wiltshire, to Wonder Woman's fictional home in Italy, featured in the film Wonder Woman 1984.
Carmela covered 300km in 30 days with her mum, Lucy, while her friends and family made up the rest with walks of their own - all raising money for Muscular Dystrophy UK.
Carmela's dad, Darren Chillery-Watson, made headlines when he decided to live in the shed to keep his daughter safe at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Carmela's Wonder Woman Challenge came to the attention of Gal Gadot, the actor who plays the superhero, who tweeted her support.
Lilly Aspell also recorded a video for Carmela where she praised the six-year-old for her efforts and described her as “the definition of a Wonder Woman”.
Actor who plays young Wonder Woman sends message of support to Wiltshire girl
Six-year-old girl with muscular dystrophy smashes fundraising target inspired by Wonder Woman
Carmela was diagnosed with LMNA Congenital Muscular Dystrophy in 2017. Her condition and abilities will deteriorate over time, and she might not survive to adulthood.
Her mother, Lucy, explains: "It's on the very severe spectrum. It's one in every million babies that get it. Worldwide it's just a handful.
"It's a muscle wasting condition. It weakens all the skeletal muscles. It will affect her heart and lungs in the long run. Eventually children that are born fine with this condition will lose their ability to walk later."
All the money raised will go towards research into the condition.
You can find out more about Carmela's challenge on her fundraising page.
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