A WREXHAM woman is encouraging people to pursue their dreams as 'hard work pays off'.

Laura O'Donnell, of Cefn Mawr said despite being a single mum-of-five, she travels the world doing what she loves, and is pushing herself to train as a stunt woman for films and television programmes.

She told the Leader: "I want to be a stunt woman. It's hard work. I spend 16 hours working with horses and look after my kids and then train.

"I thought my life would be over having kids, I never thought I would get this far. It's amazing what you can achieve.

"How can someone like me get this far, it's really starting to pay off.

"Coming from Wrexham, people don't expect you to travel the world doing what you love doing."

From a young age, Laura says she always knew she wanted to be an actress and after years on and off the set, she wants to put herself to the test and become a stunt woman.

She said: "Because I work with horses, I train stunts with them that way as well but I have to pay for all the training myself, it's hard work.

"During my line of work I've had the chance to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger and Orlando Bloom.

"When I was younger I was a child model and always knew I wanted to be an actress, even from day one I knew.

"Things happen in life that you may not plan on but I can still do what I love now. It's just a little harder with the children.

"We are constantly doing things as a family but we've all got to carry on living our lives."

Laura will also be competing for Wales' Strongest Woman at the Llangollen Pavilion on February 29 for under 62kg.

She will also represent Wrexham at Miss Galaxy in March next year whilst raising funds for the Christie Cancer Charity.

She added: "I will start fundraising for that soon. I'll set up a justgiving page and do things like cake sales.

"But we are also planning on putting on a performance of acrobats and martial arts stunts which will be fun.

"We need to support our community, we need to come together to support the good causes out there and raising money for cancer is hugely important."

Laura, who also does personal training sessions and is planning on going back to University to become a teacher, is looking for sponsors for both competitions.

Updates can be found on her Instagram page at www.instagram.com/lauraodonnellactress.