A SEVEN-year-old boy has become one of the youngest black belts in the country.

Andrew Raine was awarded his black belt, or first Dan grading, at the weekend after astonishing judges with his skill.

The youngster had to demonstrate a number of complex techniques and take part in a written and oral examination on the martial art at the Chungdokwan Tae kwon do's headquarters at Ferryhill, County Durham.

He was among 26 people from all over the North-East taking part in the grading, several of them were adults.

President of the country's Chungdokwan Tae kwon do, David Jordinson, of Woodham, near Newton Aycliffe, said: "It is remarkable for someone of that age. Usually, when you get children of that age their attention span is very short. Andrew has an old head on young shoulders.

"He can do everything an adult can. He was on the floor for a full 35 minutes during the grading and worked like a little trooper."

Andrew, of Commercial Street, Crook, took up the sport when he was five and trains six hours a week, as well as practising at home.

His mother, Sharon, said he has already announced he wants to compete in the Olympics.

His father, Keith, a bricklayer, said: "We took him to the club when he was five and he took to it from day one."