A POOLE martial arts club has won three gold medals at a prestigious ju-jitsu championship in Gibraltar.

Club instructor Andy Walker, who spent a year training for the event, was crowned the United Nations ju-jitsu champion by Gibraltar’s sports minister Edwin Reyes.

Astonishingly, this is the fifth time Andy has won the event.

Meanwhile, Andy’s two students, 16-year-old Peter Laney and 15-year-old Emma Ullathorne, both took gold in their categories.

Andy, of the Poole Bushido Ju-jitsu Club, said: “Winning is a big thing for me, but it's about passing on the knowledge and my experience to my students who can harvest the benefits of the hard working people behind the scenes at the club.”

The club was unable to compete in the event for three years, until Poole Sports Council stepped in with a sports grant in April.

“I’ve trained for 20 years now, and can’t remember the number of British and United Nations gold medals I have, but with the extra funding from the Sports Council we were able to take an extra student, and it paid dividends with them winning gold also,” said Andy.

Poole Sports Council chairman Richard Yates said: “This is exactly what the Sports Development Grants exist for, to enable talented sports individuals and clubs to participate in top level competitions and to achieve greater success.”