Emily and Hannah Cox became the first girls to reach 40 Brownies interest badges

Emily and Hannah Cox, 9, became the first girls in the county to achieve the impressive feat by owning 43 of the 57 badges available to girl guides.

The girls are members of the 5th Newbury Brownies unit and they have both earned the same badges after learning new skills in cookery, crafting and First Aid.

To celebrate their ground-breaking achievement, Emily and Hannah were presented with their 40th badge - the Wildlife Explorer badge - by Helen Randall, the assistant county commissioner for Girlguiding Berkshire.

She said: “Most girls gain a handful of badges during their time as a Brownie, but to be awarded over 40 badges really is a tremendous achievement.

“On behalf of Girlguiding Berkshire, I would like to congratulate both Emily and Hannah for their commitment, enthusiasm and for inspiring other girls to rise to the challenge of gaining badges.”

When they are not at Brownies, the girls are keen athletes and are regular members at Newbury Athletic Club and they particularly enjoyed achieving their Sports badge after setting a number of running and swimming challenges.

Speaking on their achievement Emily said: “The best thing about badges is that you have something to work for and you get a reward. There are so many badges to gain. Water Safety was the hardest badge because I had to learn lots of different skills.”

Hannah added: “The Advanced Cook badge was one of the hardest. You have to cook a meal by yourself and also show how you use equipment safely.”