THE North-East saw its first fencing World Champion as a Darlington woman scored the winning points for her team in a global competition.

Avid fencer and coach, Beth Davidson took the winning point for Great Britain at the Veterans World Championships in Cairo - a world tournament for experienced fencers over the age of 50.

The sportswoman, who trains and coaches in Durham and Darlington, had already secured a silver medal in the individual event the day before so her eyes were on the World title as she stepped up to represent her team.

The day started well with the British team beating Italy, Japan and the US in the preliminary rounds which took the team to the final with reigning European Champions Germany.

The match swung strongly from the start with Great Britain creating a 12-hit lead into the final bout.

Although Ms Davidson’s main objective was to fight for the next five hits to take the World title for the team, she scored another 18 points taking the final score to 30-15.

The title of World Champion goes alongside Ms Davidson’s other accolades including 13 National titles across senior and veteran age groups, three times European veteran golds and three times Commonwealth golds in senior and veteran championships.

Ms Davidson trains and coaches at the Durham Fencing Centre and Street Swords in Darlington.

The Northern Echo: