A TOP table tennis player is helping to bring sport to youngsters through her business venture.

Jan Dunning, who is ranked second in Britain in over 40s table tennis, runs the Evoca Partnership sales and training consultancy.

She runs the consultancy, based in Bewdley, with her business partner, Karen Brice.

The pair have been coaching Sport England staff in new skills to help them influence the organisations and people they deal with.

They been carrying out the personal development programme for Sport England's Active Sports Partnerships for the past four months after winning the competitive tender.

The Active Sports Partnerships focus on increasing opportunities for young people who want to improve their sporting skills and participate in sport more frequently.

This involves staff working in partnership with local authorities, governing bodies of sport, schools, higher education, sports clubs, sports coaches and parents.

Mrs Dunning said working for Sport England had been a lot of fun for the company.

"I'm passionate about my sport - table tennis - and my partner Karen, as a mother of two young daughters, fully supports Sport England's ethos of creating a nation of more active, healthy youngsters.

"This made working with Sport England special for both of us."

The Evoca Partnership began the Sport England programme with a two-day conference for 50 staff held at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre, near Wolverhampton, in January.

They have since run smaller workshops with individual managers and their teams around the region.

"Our programme for Sport England is a prime example of the way the Evoca Partnership works with clients so that our solutions are tailor-made to suit whatever kind of business we are dealing with," said Mrs Brice.