YOUNG sportsmen and women received a mayor's praise on a town hall visit.

The Mayor of Middlesborough, Councillor Pat Walker, welcomed six dragonboaters to the mayoral suite to congratulate them on their world championships' success.

The youngsters, some of whom come from Middlesbrough, are aged between 14 and 17 and belong to the Great Britain Junior Team. They returned from the Philadelphia competition with two bronze medals each.

Coun Walker said: "As well as training hard for the event, they managed to raise the money to finance their ten-day trip to the US themselves. They are excellent ambassadors for Great Britain and Middlesbrough.