A BRIDGWATER youngster has scooped the title of the England Boys under 11 national table tennis champion.

Bertie Kelly, 10, a pupil at Enmore School, battled his way through the top 48 players in the country on June 25 and 26.

Already the Somerset Schools and County under 11 title holder, Bertie played at the Sir Tom Finney Sports Academy in Preston.

Selection of competitors was by invitation only and based on ranking.

Play began with twelve groups of four competitors playing each other, with the bottom two from each group being eliminated.

The top two then moved to the knockout rounds, where a loss meant instant elimination and five rounds to reach the final.

Bertie faced the number three from Norfolk in the semi-final and triumphed a 3-0 win.

The final was against the number four from Yorkshire, who had beat the number two from Middlesex in the other semi-final.

Bertie scooped gold, with a score of 17-15.

His dad, Jos Kelly, said: "A proud moment for Bertie and a proud moment for everyone who has supported and coached him.

"It was also a proud moment for table tennis in Somerset."

Bertie was first introduced to the sport at Enmore School, and trains at the Bridgwater Junior Table Tennis Club run by Ben and Amy Cleaveley at Chilton School.

The club takes place on Wednesday evenings and is open to everyone.

Mr Kelly added: "In recent months, coach Ben has also been giving Bertie some individual coaching to prepare him for the Nationals.

"Many of the other players come from large city table tennis clubs with full time coaches and permanent facilities, but Bertie’s success shows that with the right support and determination even a small club in Somerset is capable of producing champions.

"Somerset has a long history of table tennis and the Bridgwater League has been running for over 70 years and Bertie is a regular competitor in the local leagues with both young people and adults alike.

"If Bertie's success can encourage others to get more active and lets more people know there's a really great sport with lots of opportunity for them to get involved in the local area, then that'll be a brilliant result from it too."