A Bracknell schoolgirl has won a young adventurers competition after her drawing was selected by Go Ape judges as the best in her age group.

Melissa’s success means she and her family will now get to experience the high ropes activity centre’s Tree Tops adventure.

Liz, Melissa’s mum, said: “It was such a lovely surprise to find out Melissa won the drawing category for her age group in the Go Ape competition.

“She’s one of the youngest in her class at school and she can find things a bit of a challenge at times. She spent lots of time on her adventure drawing so I was so excited to find out that her hard work paid off!

“When I asked Melissa how she felt when she won, she said ‘I thought it was exciting and I was proud of myself,’ and I’m so proud of her.”

The competition asked youngsters aged four to twelve years old to “get creative” and submit a piece of writing or drawing on the theme of an adventure.

Melissa, who is 6-years-old, came out on top in the four to seven-year-old category.

As well as securing the Go Ape experience prize, she also received an adventure box full of art equipment.

Georgina Cox, Schools Marketing Executive at Go Ape! said: “We were overwhelmed by the volume of entries received this year and incredibly impressed with their high quality.

“Choosing a winner was a difficult task but we’re really pleased with our choices (as are our prize winners!)

“We can’t wait to welcome them and their families onto the course and watch them turn ‘I can’t’ into ‘I can’”.

Go Ape was established in 2001 by ex-army tank commander Tristam Mayhew and his wife Rebecca and now has 34 locations across the UK, including in Bracknell.