Epsom swimmer Chloe Bean has been hand-picked as a future British Olympian after being chosen to be part of the Lloyds TSB Local Heroes initiative.

The 16-year-old will receive a cash injection of £1,000 towards training and competing and is one of only 264 youngsters selected from across England and Wales.

Bean, a pupil at Rosebery School, attended the launch of the scheme at Wembley Stadium, where she rubbed shoulders with Olympic silver medal-winning diver Leon Taylor.

And Bean, who is a member of Guildford City Swimming Club, admits the recognition will be just the confidence boost she needs ahead of a hectic 2012 season.

“It’s a real honour to be selected on the scheme,” said Bean – who also was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the Olympic Park in Stratford.

“It shows that someone believes you have the potential to do well and that they trust you enough to invest their time and money in you.

“The travel and accommodation costs can really build up as there are lots of competitions in swimming, so this will really help take the pressure off my parents.

“They have always been there for me so they are very thankful for the financial support. They are both really proud of me.”

In partnership with SportsAid, the Lloyds TSB initiative is designed to ensure more talent reaches the top of their sport.

In total 346 talented athletes are part of the programme with 82 Bank of Scotland Local Heroes north of the border also receiving funding towards training and competing.

Olympic silver medallist Taylor knows a thing or two about spotting talent having helped mentor Tom Daley since he was ten, and he believes Bean and co are the future.

“It’s fantastic for these young athletes to get the funding and support because they have got a massive amount of talent,” said Taylor, who won Olympic 10m synchro silver in Athens in 2004.

“So it’s great for them to get some recognition and support and hopefully they can go on from here and have great careers.”

Lloyds TSB Local Heroes, in partnership with SportsAid, provides support and funding to 346 of Britain’s most talented developing athletes on their journey to London 2012 and beyond. Since 2008, the programme has supported 1,000 athletes. Follow future stars at facebook.com/lloydstsblocalheroes