A YOUNG boy is on course for sporting success after taking up an unusual hobby.

Simon Tudge, 12, has mastered the unicycle - and has come to the attention of national hockey team, British Unicyclists.

Simon, a pupil at Ilkley Grammar School, attended workshops in Cheltenham and Mostyn, North Wales.

He picked up tips from the national unicycle hockey team - and managed to impress them.

Rosie Tudge, Simon's mum, said: "He held his own very well. He was up against adults who weighed a lot more than him. He was one of the best there.

"He practices a lot because it is his only sport, apart from skiing and you cannot do that everyday. It is an up and coming thing to do."

Simon is also a keen juggler and manages to combine his two hobbies with a precarious balancing act. Simon, of Curly Hill, Ilkley, took up his unusual pastimes after becoming captivated with magic at an arts festival.

He said: "I loved the magic but when I got the magic catalogue I liked the look of the juggling so I decided to do that.

"I got the unicycle in January. I like it because everybody thinks it is hard to do and it looks really funny."

Simon, whose father, the Rev Paul Tudge, is the vicar of All Saints, Parish Church, in Ilkley, is the envy of his friends. He said: "They think it is good and they do bits as well."

He hopes to join the national team when he is older but says his skill will remain a hobby. He said: "I do not think I will be an entertainer. I would like to start my own business."