THE Commonwealth Games get underway on Australia’s Gold Coast today (Wednesday), with Chard’s Ellie Seward on the medal trail for Team England.

Seward, who has studied at Holyrood Academy and now Richard Huish College in Taunton, is part of a 21-strong shooting squad hoping to bring back medals from Down Under.

The 20-year-old joins Abbey Ling and Ed Ling – the latter a bronze medal winner at the Rio 2016 Olympics – from Wellington, having taken inspiration from them and now shooting alongside them on her Commonwealth debut.

She will take part in the shotgun (trap) discipline at the Games, having become UK senior and junior ladies trap champion in 2017.

She also came away from the 2016 English Open with silver (senior) and gold (junior) medals, having only begun shooting three years ago after being introduced to it by her dad.

Upon her selection, she told the Chard & Ilminster News: “I am very proud to have been called up and it made me realise I can compete at that level.

“My aim is the top six but I feel I can target a medal – it would be a shame to go all that way and not come back with some bling!”

Both Seward and Abbey Ling compete in the women's trap on April 13.

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SEWARD is joined in Australia by Robert Paxton and Louis Ridout, who are current/former Ilminster Bowling Club members.

The Gold Coast lawn bowls events run from tomorrow (Thursday) through to April 13, with Paxton and Ridout – the former based in Taunton and the latter having been born there – hoping to earn more medals for Team England.

Both are making their Commonwealth debuts, but Paxton has already gained success in that part of the world, having skipped England to gold in the World Triples Championship in New Zealand in November 2016.

Paxton will compete in the men’s triples (April 6-8) and singles (April 9-13), with Ridout in the men’s pairs (April 5-9) and fours (April 9-13).