KARATE: Fine haul of medals for LKA

The five-strong squad faced teams from all over the UK and Europe and walked away with an impressive haul of medals.

Ryan Parkins, 16, bagged the gold in his cadet kumite, bronze in his kata division and after a thrilling finale, claimed the silver in the cadet team kumite.

Team-mate Jamie Pepper, 15, also took the bronze in his individual kumite division, while Amy Parkins, 19, claimed bronze in the senior female kata division.

LKA instructors Mark Slattery, 24, and Liam Mills, 20, won gold and silver respectively in their senior male kata division and the bronze in the senior male team kumite event.

Slattery, co-founder of the new club, said: “All the team’s hard work and intensive training has paid off and the excellent results speak for themselves.”

Meanwhile, Mills added: “Everyone displayed great spirit and attitude despite competing in an event which is not their usual karate style”.