VIDEO: Olympic golden girl Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill meets excited fans at Sheffield book signing

The 31-year-old, who won heptathlon gold at the 2012 London Olympics, met with excited fans at Waterstones in Sheffield city centre this morning to pose for pictures and sign copies of her new book.

Since retiring last year, she has penned a seven book deal with Hodder Children's Books and the first one is called 'Evie's Magic Bracelet: The Silver Unicorn'.

A queue of about 100 people waited to meet the athletics hero who also read extracts from the book to a group of young fans.

The mum-of-one, who lives in Millhouses, told how the story has been inspired by her adventures as a young girl growing up in Sheffield - and one of her biggest fans is her tw-year-old son Reggie.

She added: "This was a great opportunity to develop my creative side and I have really enjoyed doing it. My son is only two-and-a-half so he is a little bit too young to read it, but I have read bits to him and he seems to be enjoying it.

"It is loosely based on me, there are lots of sporty things that go on and adventures so hopefully it will be something that people can enjoy.

"It has been inspired by my childhood memories so it is based on things that I, my friends and my family got up to when I was a young girl."

Bryony Hartley, aged 40, and her daughter Scarlet, aged 11, of Whirlow, were among those in the queue who met Jessica.

Scarlet said: "It was really inspiring watching her win gold medals and I bought her autobiography so I could read more."

Bryony added: "We are proud that she is from Sheffield and we wish her all the best in her new career."

Another fan Bruce Davis, aged 47, of Sheffield, added: "Her achievements have been amazing and I hope she enjoys the next phase of her life."

The book follows the story of a little girl who goes on a series of adventures which includes an encounter with a unicorn after receiving a magical bracelet from her grandmother Iris in Jamaica. She is co-writing the series with children’s author Elen Caldecott.

Three further titles will be released later this year and the final three in 2018. Along with the new book deal, Jessica has also become an ambassador for World Book Day.

The book is available priced at £5.99.