FOUR members of the Gracie Barra Bradford jiu-jitsu club have been crowned junior European champions.

Youngsters at the club, based at the city's Fitness Finesse Gym, achieved the historic feat at the first ever European Championships to be held in Britain.

Twenty-three Gracie Barra students headed to Wolverhampton for the prestigious event, under the supervision of head instructor Craig Tetley and his team of assistant coaches.

And the line-up brought back a series of gold, silver and bronze medals after a superb performance in the West Midlands.

Among the star performers were twins Brandon and Mackenzie, who won all of their fights to set up a sibling meeting in the final.

However, the brothers decided between them who would take the gold medal, with Brandon collecting gold and MacKenzie happy to accept silver on this occasion.

“After the competition all our kids were over the moon with themselves regardless whether they had won or lost. They were very proud, as were all the parents and coaches," said the club's Sam McGinty.

"Our whole philosophy of the club is to help build character in all those that attend – to give them life skills to go on and be brave and bold in their decisions.

"This is what we used the competition for – to have the children feel the fear and still step on the mat."

"Next, we are hoping to hold a small inter-club competition with children from other clubs in early 2016.

"This will give the kids another great opportunity to build their character and handle their fear."