National gold for Nathan

After progressing through qualifying rounds, the 11 year old came out top in his age group at Ponds Forge to become the best of British in his red belt range.

The Swallownest youngster, a pupil at Aston Comprehensive School, had to go through four fights on Saturday on his way to taking the gold medal ahead of 16 other finalists.

Said mum Jacqui: “He’s been fighting for six years and started because we wanted him to get some self-confidence.

“It’s really given him a boost and we were delighted that after a hard day he won the gold medal.”