A Northallerton schoolboy has been selected to play badminton for England this weekend.

Luke Brudenell, a 15-year-old student at Northallerton College, is in the England under-16 team to take on Denmark, Holland, Sweden and Belgium in an international tournament at Wimbledon today.

Luke, who lives at Brompton, will then compete in the individual tournament over the weekend.

The 6ft 2ins teenager believes he caught the eye of the England chief scout, Justine Wilmott, while he was playing in doubles at national events.

He said: "I got a phone call last week, inviting me to play for England. I was really pleased. I've wanted to play at the highest level for some time. I'm really looking forward to it."

Luke has been playing badminton for four-and-a-half years. The present joint head of PE at Northallerton College, Alistair Macrae, a former county player, got him started when he was at the Allertonshire School.

Since then, Luke has progressed swiftly. He has played for Yorkshire for nearly three years and recently helped them win the ICT tournament, the biggest of the national competitions involving all 39 English counties.

He has three other coaches he sees every week in Leeds - Harry Jarvis, Barbara Jones and Peter Higman.

He said: "I spend four or five nights a week on badminton. It takes up most of my time."

He also paid tribute to his parents, saying: "It's quite expensive playing at this level. Entry fees for tournaments cost nearly £1,000 a year and then there's petrol and accommodation. My mother has gone back to work to cover the costs".

He has one eye on becoming a professional player or coach in the future, but the other is currently focused on his GCSE exams which he takes next month