A Helensburgh taekwondo coach has praised his students efforts after they brought home 27 medals from a UK-wide competition.

Steven McLaren and his youngsters from Peak Performance travelled to Ravenscraig to compete in the UKTA Championships.

A total of 17 students aged eight and over attended the event, returning with 12 gold, 8 silver, and 7 bronze medals.

The club’s competitor of the day was Mason, who won his division and landed a five-point kick – a 360 degree jumping and spinning movement – which drew applause from the crowd in the arena.

Steven was delighted with the results, but not surprised at the club’s success, and hopes the experience of competing ignites a hunger in his young athletes.

He said: “There is a high expectation in the club. Because I’m an ex-competitor and I’ve had fights at World and European level, I think that gets passed down the club.

“They see your medals and they think, ‘I would like to achieve that’. We’re quite a competitive club and we put on so much extra training for these guys that there’s got to be a little bit of expectation.

“We would love to see them going on and getting into the national team. This is just the start and that seems a long way away, but it’s really not.

“You just need to enter a few competitions and get the taste for it.”

The medal haul also saw the club ranked in the top ten schools at the competition – a considerable achievement given the size of the school.

Steven praised the town of Helensburgh for punching above its weight when faced with competition from cities with much larger populations.

He added: “The people I work for scratch their head – they can’t understand how a town this size is producing such elite athletes and how the club is doing so well.

“We’re up against big clubs from Nottingham, London, and Glasgow which have hundreds of thousands of people to draw from.

“In Helensburgh, I can advertise as far as Cardross. Even I scratch my head sometimes. Everybody did amazing.”

To ensure it can continue providing competitive opportunities for its students, the club is seeking sponsorship from local businesses.

Steven said: “I hate to see the kids doing without, but unfortunately competitions cost money.

“It’s maybe £30 to enter, then you have to buy the gloves, the boots, and the gumshield.

“My job is to create awesome little human beings, and a little bit of sponsorship would mean we can do so much for other people.”

Anyone interested in sponsoring the club or taking part in sessions is asked to contact steven@peak-performance.club.