A WALNEY writer has channelled her experience of childhood disability into a new collection of poetry.

Kate Davis, 66, who has been active in a number of community projects in Barrow, has now released first collection of poetry, entitled The Girl Who Forgets How to Walk.

The writer was diagnosed with polio aged four and said the experience seeped into her work inadvertently.

She has lived on Walney for 40 years and grew up in the rural surrounds of Urswick, an area where many of her poems are set.

She said: "It was never intended to be a collection but a friend told me 'all your poems are about the ground' and I didn't believe her until I realised that the whole book was about my relationship with the ground and the geology around me.

Mrs Davis described the poems as "dream-like", combining memories and dreams with her experience of the natural environment.

She said: "There are a lot of places that local people will recognise but it is my perspective of the places."

Mrs Davis went to school wearing callipers and said her disability had improved over the years but she still got pain in her ribs and leg.

"I did not realise until I went to senior school that I was different from everyone else," she said.

"It is still difficult to live with. I spend a lot of time in bed because it is painful to sit down.

"I am the only person who judges a restaurant based on the chairs because of how uncomfortable it is for me to sit."

Mrs Davis has worked as a writer on a number of creative projects in Barrow - including the recent Ballad of Barrow Market, a heritage project that brought to life tales of the market's past through a series of sketches.

The writer said she was keen to celebrate the local creative community in Barrow.

She said: "It is not talked about often enough but Barrow is a wonderfully creative place and there a lot of groups doing amazing work."

The book is published by Penned in the Margins and is available to buy from their website pennedinthemargins.co.uk for £9.99.