KARATE Kids from Year 9 at Haslingden High School are preparing to be graded for their black belt just five years after starting the sport.

Fourteen-year-olds Fraser Chapman and Harrison Hanson attend training sessions in the martial art several times a week as members of the Red Tiger Karate Club. They meet at Helmshore Primary School but also attend classes in Bolton as they get ready for the grading.

At the training camp in North Wales they got top tips and were instructed by a world class Sensei Tomiko Mitsuoka.

Harrison said: “We trained in self-defence and also went on the beach and did a kata, which is a series of moves to show your skills.

“I train five times a week and my dad and sister also do karate. It keeps you fit.”

Fraser trains three times a week but will be increasing it as the black belt grading gets closer in November.