PEOPLE can learn self-defence on a course being launched by martial arts experts in Durham.

Durham City Aikikai, one of England's oldest and most respected schools of traditional Chiba-style Aikido, will start an introductory course for adults of all ages and conditions next Tuesday, at 7pm, in Gilesgate Community Centre. It costs £40.

The course, each Tuesday and Thursday evening, will cover throwing and locking techniques and how to receive such applications without injury.

Chief instructor Arthur Lockyear, a fourth dan black belt and international coach, said: "We intend to give people a taste of as many aspects of this art as we can over the ten lessons of this course.

"Although Aikido is a serious study of the martial arts, it is a most enjoyable art to practice and one of the safest and most controlled of the self-defence arts.''

For more details, ring 0191-373 2035.