THREE gymnasts who represented the North-East in a national competition last week narrowly missed out on medals.

Alisa Pitt, Nikki Wilson and Lyndsey Irish, all from Stockton, took fourth place when they competed in the National Sports Acrobatics Competition.

The competition, at Fenton Manor, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was so closely fought that the youngsters missed out on gold medals by only 0.43 of a point.

They were in third place until the last group performed.

The competition involved the trio performing a two-and-a-half minute acrobatic routine.

The trio are members of the Hemlington Gymnastics Club, which is based at Stockton Sports Centre. Coach Charlotte Wilkinson said: "The girls were fantastic and I could not have asked them to do any more. Their performance on the day was the best I have seen them give."