Norfolk girl youngest in England with bionic Hero Arm

The Hero Arms come in several customisable designs including a Frozen theme and different patterns

A seven-year-old girl is now the youngest in England to be fitted with a prosthetic Hero Arm.

Caitlin, from Wymondham in Norfolk, was born with symbrachydactyly, a condition which meant she had no bones in the fingers of her left hand.

The arm is created by a company who designs limbs for children that look like superheroes and other characters.

Delighted with her bionic arm Caitlin said it was "amazing" and described it as "really heavy, and really clever".

She added: "The teachers always cut up my food for me when I was in reception and now when I go back to school I can cut my own food."

Caitlin was very excited to eat ice cream from a tub on her own for the first time

Caitlin's mother Maria said things like using cutlery, brushing her own hair, and looking forward to holding her own tray at lunchtime have improved her daughter's confidence.

"They're things we don't even think about," Maria said. "You get so self-conscious and there's pressure on young people but this puts her on a level playing field with her friends.

"She loves it, it's just cool. It's not pretending to be an arm because it looks so different."

The arms are customisable and can be adjusted with the wearer as they grow up

The family raised more than £18,500 for the arm, made by Open Bionics, through a combination of fundraising and grants.

After giving themselves six months to raise the money, they achieved their goal in just one.

"It was just amazing, especially the way things are at the moment financially, how many people wanted to donate," Maria said.

Caitlin made repeated visits to Open Bionics in Bristol to prepare for the £13,500 new bionic arm

Typically, the bionic arms are only available for over eight-year-olds.

But, when Maria contacted Open Bionics in December, they heard back in a few days. Caitlin was only six at the time, making her the youngest to have ever been given a Hero Arm.

She was able to use it earlier than most as she already had a wrist joint that she was used to using and existing muscle control in the area.

Caitlin has been wearing the arm for just over a week and said she still has to practice controlling the hand.

"My friends want to hold my hand and I accidentally squeeze them too hard," she said.

"I'm getting better at doing it properly. It is amazing."