The Haverfordwest Skateboard Park could be one of the best sporting investments made in Pembrokeshire as enthusiasts of all ages flock from across the county.

And one of those who makes regular trips across the Cleddau Bridge to use the floodlit facilities is Daisy da Gama Howells, who has been involved for two and a half years.

Daisy, 15, is a great advert for the park because she loves what she does and is eager to help less experienced skateboarders with advice about the twists and turns on the ramps.

“There is a great camaraderie there and I have been so lucky myself because when I set out at the smaller skate park in Pembroke Dock there was a group of very good skateboarders ready to offer advice,” Daisy told us, “and they taught me my first-ever trick, the ‘ollie’, which took lots of patience to master.

“In Haverfordwest there is a group of much older men who meet up on a Tuesday evening and they are also great to have on the park because they are willing to share their experience with us.

Daisy has always enjoyed a challenge from the time she found a couple of skateboards in the family garden shed and her dad Graham and mum Emma allowed her to use one to roll down the street where they live - and younger brother Otis (12) was soon doing the same.

Eventually dad took them to the skate park in Pembroke Dock and she took to the ramps so well that the following Christmas saw the family trekking off to Camp Hillcrest, near Lydney, Gloucestershire, as a surprise Christmas present.

It was great fun and they were given expert coaching there from Tom and Dan, as well as making loads of new friends, and from then on it was hard to prise the board out of Daisy’s hands.

But in the intervening time Daisy has also added other strings to her sporting bow, including an involvement with Brazilian Ju-Jitsu under the guidance of Stuart Tyrie, who is her uncle but treats her like his other young charges - and she has already gained her grey belt, with black stripe and two tags.

On the opposite side of the sporting spectrum, Daisy is also keen on ballet with Alice Russell and has achieved grade five already.

“It might seem an unusual mix but it certainly helps with my flexibility and balance for skateboarding,” admitted Daisy.

Back on the skateboarding front Daisy has improved her range of tricks that are becoming ever more complex and her latest achievement has been a ‘back side air’ - but admits that she has to achieve more consistency with it.

Daisy is very appreciative of the amount of travel that her parents have to do as she goes further afield to gain experience, with dad also involved in cricket and surfing, as well as the Angle Lifeboat. Mum played some sport in school but is now described by Daisy and Otis as the best taxi-driver in the world!

The other major influence on her skateboarding has been her great friend Lily Rice, who is now involved in Paraboarding at world level - and Daisy went with Lily to feature in promotional videos to raise the profile of wheelchair boarding. The families have also become great friends as a bonus.

“What I need is more competitions,” admitted Daisy, “ and as well as my own family I have great support from Mark and Jen Rice, alongside Lily’s sister Amber - it like an extended family team!”

They also travelled to Corby, in Northants, to test out ‘Adrenaline Alley’, the biggest park in Europe, which enabled Daisy to test her skills even more.

“I also have some help from Danny and Claire from ‘Pretty Sweet Skate Shop’ in Haverfordwest and Jason from ‘Underground’ in Tenby, which has been a real help because travel costs are invariably heavy.”

But there is one thing for sure and that is the fact that skateboarding is very much a part of Daisy’s life and her commitment was recognised by those at the Pembrokeshire Skate Park when in 2018 she received the Morgan Power Inspirational Award.