A TEENAGER with a talent for balance will be wowing the crowds of Colchester Carnival.

Ellie Stockwell, 15, of Chapel Road, Brightlingsea, will be riding on her home-made unicycle, which she made with dad Gerry.

At 5ft tall, the unique mode of transport means Mr Stockwell has to help her onto it with a ladder and will be accompanying her in Saturday’s procession.

He said his daughter, who attends Colne Community School in Brightlingsea, is obsessed with the unicycle and “doesn’t walk anywhere”.

Ellie will be dressed as a clown in the parade to fit in with the carnival’s theme of colour and noise.

Her dedication to the unicycle started when her dad decided to buy her one as a Christmas present in 2007. After wobbling on one wheel about her house, Ellie soon got to grips with riding the unicycle and decided it would be fun to make a taller one.

Ellie and her dad’s handiwork over two weekends saw them create the new model out of a BMX wheel and the frame of a women’s bike.

Mr Stockwell said: “We make lots of things together and we thought it would be nice to make this.”

Ellie and her unicycle have appeared in a string of local carnivals, including Colchester’s in 2009.