Amputee Maisie peddling away thanks to new pushbike

Eight-year-old Maisie Catt, from Mirfield, walks on blades after having had her lower legs amputated during a battle with meningitis.

After trying hand-cycling at children’s cycling charity Streetbikes CIC, Maisie was hooked and soon wanted to try her hand at traditional cycling, something that hadn’t been possible in her blades.

That was until the Streetbikes team went to work making a specially-designed bike.

Maisie’s mother Sharon, said: “She absolutely loves it. It’s just so lovely to see her cycling around.

“She’s such a brave little girl with a can-do attitude, despite everything she’s been through.

“Since she got her blades there has been no stopping her with this sort of thing.

“It was the first time she had experienced any sort of speed on a bike and she couldn’t stop smiling. Watching her face on the bike was such a lovely experience.”

Maisie attends Streetbikes, based out of Wakefield, at Spenborough race track and has recently taken up taekwondo.

Her achievements have now seen her nominated for the Female Young Achiever award at the Yorkshire Disability Sport Awards, set to take place in Leeds on March 16.

Gill Greaves, CEO at Streetbikes, nominated the youngster and said that Maisie was a credit to her family.

She said: “Maisie is a courageous young lady who is determined to live life to the full dispite her disability. She is an inspiration.

“We put a video of her cycling on our Facebook page and have had interest in her story from around the country.”

Sharon is delighted and said: “It’s so nice of them to have seen something in Maisie to want to nominate her for something like that.

“But that’s just her getting on with things like she does. She’s got such a positive attitude.

“Maisie is happy to share her stories and wants them to be told because she wants other children and people with disabilities to go out and try all the things she’s enjoying at the moment.”