Youngest MBE winner takes on ‘poo plod’ for accessible toilets

The youngest person to receive an MBE has dressed as a toilet for a five-mile “poo plod” to raise money for accessible facilities at her school.

Carmela Chillory-Watson, from Dorset, is walking and wheeling from her school in Branksome to Bournemouth Pier, and back, accompanied by her mother, Lucy, who is dressed as an inflatable emoji poo.

She hopes to raise at least £9,000 for washing and drying facilities at the school, which will allow disabled students to go to the toilet independently.

The 11-year-old, who has LMNA congenital muscular dystrophy – a progressive muscle-wasting condition, said it would enable them to “feel more independent”.

Carmela, originally from Wiltshire, was diagnosed with the condition in 2017, aged three, and has since taken on 25 fundraising and awareness campaigns, often dressed in superhero costumes.

Reflecting on her MBE in the King’s Birthday honours, she said: “I can’t find the words, honestly, I was thrilled.

“I love helping charities, I love fundraising for them and I will just do anything to help and give everyone hope for the future and for the charities.”

Carmela said she hoped her latest challenge would draw attention to a cause that meant a lot to her personally, and expressed the importance of remote controlled toilet facilities that allowed people with physical disabilities to use toilets on their own.

“Other people, and myself, like to be independent in the toilet,” she said, adding it would “give them a sense of dignity”.

Teachers, pupils and parents from the school, all dressed in various toilet-themed outfits, set off on the walk with Carmela and her mother at 09:00 BST.