A YOUNG soldier hopes to slide her way to sporting success when she hits the slopes in a top Army contest.

Shelley Briggs, of Ferryhill, is one of 135 soldiers taking part in the Army's snowboarding championship on the Stubai Glacier in the Austrian Alps.

The 23-year-old enrolled in the week-long tournament after just three weeks of snowboarding after her troop staff sergeant spotted her talent.

Miss Briggs, an area systems operator in the Royal Corps of Signals, will compete in five disciplines, from slalom racing to stunts.

She said: "I have always wanted to try winter sports.

"I have already parachuted and canoed with the Army. Snowboarding is something that I have never done before.

"I have enjoyed it more than the other two sports I have tried. It is more adventurous and physical. The regiment helped us by supplying us with funding and the equipment to carry out the sport to the best of our ability."

Miss Briggs, whose parents Joseph and Gail live in Ferryhill, went to Ferryhill Comprehensive School, now the Business and Enterprise College, before joining the Army in 1999.

A spokesman for the Army said that for soldiers who have spent time away on operations, activities such as snowboarding offer a respite from a busy schedule.

Major Matt Ware, chairman of the Army Snowboarding Association, said: "Sport is just one of the ways that the Army can give something back to the soldiers."