A TALENTED student has won silver in an international martial arts contest.

Simone Abley finished second in the female welterweight division at the European Universities Taekwondo Championships held in Croatia.

At the start of the competition the East Durham College student was one of 1,400 athletes taking part from over 400 universities and progressed into the 28 qualifying athletes at the Student National Taekwondo Championships in March.

The 28 students representing 22 British universities and colleges flew out to Zagreb for the European Universities Taekwondo Championships.

Simone, coached by brother Scott Abley, won the quarter finals against Croatia 19-0, the semi-finals against Croatia, again, with 9-2 and lost the final against Portugal 7-3.

Speaking about her victory, Simone said: "During the lead up to the competition my preparation went well. When I was competing, I felt confident and ready, I did all the hard work so all I had to do was fight. All my performances were the best I have been in a while and it felt good to get my first senior international medal at a major championship."

A college spokesperson congratulated Simone for her outstanding achievement, and said they look forward to her future successes.

This victory is one of many for Simone, representing Great Britain since 2013 she has won various titles over the years, including bronze medallist at the Under 21 European championships last year. As a Business Student at East Durham College, studying under the current Level 3 BTEC Peter Jones Enterprise Academy course -that prepares young people aiming to pursue a career as an entrepreneur- she is involved in teaching Taekwondo alongside her brother, Scott.

Launched in 2016, Salamander Taekwondo is the pairs’ high-quality teaching venture providing Taekwondo training to local communities in Tow Law, Consett, Middlestone Moore and Newcastle University.