The torrential weather may not have been much to cheer about but the girls from Cheer Extreme Academy put on a brave face for a fundraising car wash.

The academy, which meets at Swanscombe Leisure Centre and Medway Park in Gillingham, has become the first in Kent to qualify for the world championships in Florida .

Members and parents,who are raising money for the trip next April, have held a number of events, including a Halloween party and race night.

A group of cheerleaders were at Southern Valley Golf Club, Gravesend, for the morning to clean members’ cars - and at the same time got a soaking.

Mum Alison Thompson, whose daughter Jordan,15, has been selected, said: “When we got up it was dry, but when we got there, the rain came down,

“But we thought we’d give it a go and it went very well.”

They washed about 30 cars in three hours at the golf club and some of the girls added a ray of sunshine by performing a few routines.