A BARROW martial arts club has won eight medals at the Junior European Championships.

A group of 11 children from LOBO Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in Barrow went to the Junior European Championships on Saturday and altogether won eight medals including four bronze, two silver and two gold medals.

LOBO BJJ is the only Jiu-jitsu club in Barrow and is based in Shore Street.

Mike Reay founded the club in September 2017 and it has gone from strength to strength since then.

Mr Reay started training in Judo 10 years ago before transitioning in to Jiu-jitsu which has become his ‘love and passion’.

He now teaches others in the community alongside his coaching team of Barry Gentley, Joanne Reay and Adam Prentice.

Mr Reay said it was ‘fantastic’ to see the them do so well over the weekend.

He said: “The kids programme we have hear only started about a year ago.

“So within the first 12 months to have three European champions is fantastic.

“We’ve had a great year, with both the kids programme and adult classes growing really well.

“We started out with just three kids and now we have around 30.

“Jiu-Jitsu is one of the fastest growing martial arts in the world.

“With the popularity of MMA and the rise of interest in health and fitness lifestyles.

“More and more people are looking to get involved.”

The clubs next big competition is set to take place in March 2020.

Mr Reay said: “I like to take double the amount of people we took to the European championships, but we want to focus on quality.

“The training and preparation for this weeks tournament has been fantastic.

“I want the LOBO to be one of the best academy’s in the UK.”

LOBO BJJ run regular training sessions during the week for both children and adults for anyone interested in trying jiu-jitsu.