Four generations of the same family have cheered their way to victory as they helped their team take home top prizes at a cheerleading championship event.

Team Spirit, which is based in Walton, includes an astounding seven members of the same family, from 72-year-old great-grandmother Mary Andrews cheering on from the stands to three-year-old Joshua, the latest addition to the team.

Shez Southernwood, 42, is the team’s principal coach, and leads son Luke Wallace, 22, daughter Aimee Wallace, 16, grandson Joshua, three, and nieces Kenya and Learna Barnard in sparkling routines.

Their performances saw the team walk away from the Southern Classic in Eastbourne with a first place, second place and two third place trophies for their various routines.

Miss Southernwood said: “The weekend was absolutely brilliant and we came back with five trophies – including a first, a second and two thirds – so we were really pleased.

“The weekend was a complete success, probably the best one yet – we are already working on next year’s routine.”

The group has more than 50 members, in addition to Miss Southernwood’s family, and they meet twice a week to train routines.

She said: “It’s fantastic, I love it. Lots of people say it’s not ideal teaching your own children but they’ve never known anything different.

“When we’re at Team Spirit we’re all one big happy family and it’s great just to have that common interest, it’s really lovely.”

With the latest success, Miss Southernwood is now considering sending a team to the international championships which are due to take place in Telford next year.

She added: “At the competition they were clearly in a league of their own and if they have six more months they could be up to international level.”

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