WOTTON youngster Jack Reeves won a bronze medal in his first international judo competition.

The 11-year-old travelled to Grissolles in France as one of 19 youngsters representing England.

Over 1,200 fighters took part in the five-day event travelling from 14 countries to do so, including Russia, Turkey, Senegal, Netherlands, Spain, France – and the quality of judo on display was awe-inspiring.

Reeves, a member of Bradley Stoke Judo Club, lost his first fight with a careless mistake but then succeeded in working his way through the group, comprising 25 boys all born in 1999 and 2000 and weighing in at under 38kgs, to gain a place in the semi-finals.

The Russian he met there, who went on to win the gold medal, proved too much but Reeves was very happy to come home with the bronze trophy and has demonstrated that he is able to hold his own amongst the best in the world.