MARTIAL arts pupils have made a big impact in Europe.

The tae kwon do students from Darlington returned from Portugal with 17 gold medals.

The 18-strong team from Kim Chung Do Kwan tae kwon do based in the town, competed in four different aspects of the martial arts incorporating traditional movements, self defence, breaking and full contact fighting.

Tom Smith, 13, who lives at Hurworth, also won best male infant overall winner coming home with three gold, one silver and one bronze medal.

It was a family affair for Tom, who has been training for more than five years and is hoping to win his 2nd Dan black belt this month, as his father Mark and younger brothers Danny, 12, and Sam, nine, were also in the Kim Chung Do team.

Chief Instructor of Kim Chung Do, Master Ron Brennan, 6th Dan, said: "This was a high level competition with teams from Spain, France, Switzerland, Wales, England and the Portuguese national side competing, so we had tough competition, so with everybody doing so well it shows the quality of our students."

Gold medal winners were Katey Wallace, Janice McAuley, Emma Roscher, Susan Taylor, Mark Smith, Matthew Walker, Robbie Bates, Nikki Beresford, Hannah Hatfield, Naomi Denton, Travis Bacon, Tom Smith, Sean Argyle and Julian Hatfield.

For more details on tae kwon do, contact (01325) 241144.