Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell has been made a Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex.

Gunnell, 45, who won gold in 1992 in Barcelona, lives in Sussex.

Speaking to a national newspaper, she said: “It’s such an exciting time to take up the role. It shows that it’s just not landowners and older locals who get the honour; it’s people who can make a difference and be a bit of a voice in the community.

“We’ve got a great opportunity to inspire children and adults to get into sport. More and more people are getting into the spirit of the Olympics and I want to build on that.”

She said she was not daunted to be mixing with senior members of the Royal family, adding: “The Queen gave me my OBE, we also had a lunch after my Olympic win.

“I thought there would be 100 in the room but it was literally 12 people. It was scary, but she was very knowledgeable and we really chatted.

“Nigel Mansell, the former world champion racing driver, was there too. We talked about how her children used to whizz round Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace on go-karts.”