Tree planting honours Olympians and Paralympians

Yasmin Harper and Krysten Coombs both won medals for Great Britain

South Yorkshire's Olympian and Paralympian medal-winners have been honoured in a tree-planting ceremony at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.

Diver Yasmin Harper and Para badminton player Krysten Coombs were helped by local schoolchildren to plant 17 saplings - one for every medallist from the region.

"When you see all these people come and help plant the tree for you it's amazing and a real privilege to have that there," said Harper, who won Team GB's first medal of the Paris Olympic Games (a bronze) with synchronised diving teammate Scarlett Mew Jensen.

"[Sheffield] is a big base for a lot of athletes so it's an amazing place to be part of," added bronze and silver medal-winner Coombs.

Seventeen trees were planted to represent South Yorkshire's 17 Olympic and Paralympic medallists

"We've got us, Para table tennis and the divers at Ponds Forge. GB boxing are here and wheelchair basketball used to be," he added.

"It's great to have that team environment."

Students from Oasis Academy in Shirecliffe helped the medallists dig with the planting.

They will be looking after the newly-planted trees in the months to come, and hopefully using some of the fruit produced in their cooking classes.

Mayor Oliver Coppard used the event to relaunch his Free Trees for Communities scheme which gives tree-growing packs to the public.

It is part of his goal to plant 1.4 million trees - one for every person who lives in the county - of which about 100,000 have been planted so far.

"This is about making sure there are trees everywhere across South Yorkshire," he said.

"It's good for biodiversity, it's good defences against flooding, but most importantly it's about making South Yorkshire the nicest place to live we can."

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