A Lothersdale-based Paralympian has reflected on her sporting experience after being involved in the opening of a fan site where spectators can watch this year's Paralympic Games.

Danielle Brown, who won gold in archery in Beijing in 2008 and retained her title in London in 2012, opened an official fan zone site at Battersea Power Station, in London, last week along with fellow Paralympian Kylie Grimes.

The site is one of six in the country where spectators can gather to watch the Paris Paralympics.

The fan zones, as the first of their kind, are part of a change in how the Paralympics have been promoted since Ms Brown's gold win in 2008.

Ms Brown said: "After I won in Beijing 2008 I did two media interviews.

There was a two-minute segment about the Paralympics on the news and archery got about 30 seconds of that.

"When I won in London 2012, I had two full days of media interviews.

"The Paralympics was no longer an afterthought, but a serious competition where athletic ability was seen and celebrated.

"Since then, the Paralympics has grown into a more respected and well-known competition and it’s brilliant experiencing the excitement around Paris.

"It’s very disheartening when you become the best in the world at something, and then you’re given a pat on the head and told ‘well done for trying’.

"Paralympic athletes are awesome at what they do, they work hard and they deserve to have their achievements recognised.

"Thankfully, outdated views like this are beginning to change as the Paralympic movement continues to grow.

"I grew up only able to name one person with a disability, which was Stephen Hawking.

"This lack of visibility changes what you believe you can do and I spent most my teenage years worrying that I would be passed over for opportunities because I was disabled.

"It also changes how other people see it too.

"If you aren’t exposed to disability it can be easy to make assumptions about what people can and can’t achieve, which in turns affects the way we treat people."

Ms Brown retired from competitive sport in 2015 and has since become an award-winning children's author.

An updated edition of her book, Run Like A Girl, was released in July.

It features a collection of biographical stories of female athletes from around the world, including 800m runner Kelly Hodgkinson, USA gymnast Simone Biles, and skateboarder Sky Brown.