Olympic athletes are often quick to praise the sporting opportunities they were given in their local areas as youngsters.

With the 2024 Paris Olympics just around the corner, figures show how Carlisle stacks up when it comes to opportunities to play sport.

Sport England data from October shows there were 244 sports facilities in the area.

While more than half of these were grass pitches, there were also 16 gyms, 27 sports halls and 10 swimming pools.

At the time the data was released, Carlisle had six outdoor tennis courts, although new courts have recently opened at Bitts Park.

Carlisle also has five squash courts and an indoor tennis centre.

Analysis from the Office for National Statistics shows places with the fewest facilities per person tend to be in urban areas – with 12 of the worst 15 in London.

Meanwhile, 14 of the 15 areas with the most places to play sport were in rural areas.

Its findings suggest those with a greater number of sports facilities in their area are more likely to be active for more than two and a half hours a week.

However, it cautioned this may be due to "demographic and socio-economic differences between rural, suburban and densely populated areas."

Carlisle had a sports facility for every 451 residents, or 1,079 excluding grass pitches.

Across the country these figures were 584 and 1,121 respectively.

Sport England has a "Movement Fund", which offers up to £15,000 for community organisations to provide better opportunities for physical activity.

Across England, around 77% of facilities registered with Sport England are classed as 'publicly accessible' – which includes those that are free to use, 'pay and play', and sports clubs. The remainder are private.

In Carlisle, 68% are publicly accessible.

A spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: "As the Culture Secretary has made clear, talent is everywhere but opportunity is not and we are committed to giving people of all ages access to sport, including funding grassroots facilities.

"We want to give everyone the chance to emulate their sporting heroes and achieve their dreams, wherever they come from."