LITTLEDOWN Masters’ Dave Hembrow has become a European record holder almost half a century after he swam in the Olympic Games.

The 70-year-old veteran of Mexico 1968 recorded a 1500m freestyle short-course time of 21min 40.00sec at the Swim England National Masters' Championship in Sheffield.

The time carved more than half a minute off the previous European 70-74yrs record set by fellow Briton Geoff Stokes in 2009.

Hembrow also won the 70-74yrs 200m and 400m freestyle in 2:35.46 and 5:33.50 and was second in the 50m and 100m freestyle (33.15 and 1:12.00).

Team-mates Nigel Foster and Cathy Hartle also made the podium at Ponds Forge.

Foster won gold in the 65-69yrs 50m and 200m backstroke, silver in the 100m backstroke and freestyle and bronze in the 50m freestyle.

Hartle won silver in the 55-59yrs 1500m freestyle and bronze in the 800m.

Poole’s Kath Baker clocked lifetime or season’s best times in all six of her swims, winning gold in the 25-29yrs 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley, silver in the 100m breaststroke and bronze in the 100m butterfly.

Bournemouth Collegiate School’s British age group champion Kayla van der Merwe is the new regional senior and junior champion in the 100m breaststroke.

She won both titles at the South West Winter Championship as well as junior gold in the 50m and 200m breaststroke, senior bronze in the 200m breaststroke and junior bronze in the 200m IM.

Other BCS junior medallists at Millfield were Oni Taiwo with gold in the junior 50m freestyle, Ella Chown with silver in the 100m butterfly and bronze in the 50m and 200m fly, Alex Bryant (silver 100m backstroke) and Finn Trehane (bronze 50m breaststroke).

Poole’s British junior champion Jacob Peters won at least one medal of each colour at Millfield – but met his match in his favourite butterfly events.

The 17-year-old comfortably beat Mount Kelly’s Federico Burdisso at the World Junior Championship in August but had the tables turned on him by the Devon-based Italian at Millfield.

Peters, currently in training for next month’s Commonwealth Games trials in Sheffield, won gold in the men’s 50m butterfly and backstroke in 24.83 and 26.72 but had to settle for silver and bronze in the 200m and 100m fly, respectively.

Poole coach Barry Alldrick said: “Jacob’s times put him in good stead for December, when we are looking for him to peak.”

Oli Fairman, 14, celebrated his move from Swim Bournemouth with a quartet of junior medals, including gold in the 200m backstroke in which he broke Poole’s senior and junior club records with 2:10.11.

He also won bronze in the 50m backstroke, 200m freestyle and 200m IM.

European junior semi-finalist Jazz McCrea won silver in the 50m and 100m fly and 50m freestyle.

Drew McGregor’s silver in the 100m breaststroke topped a tally of four junior medals for Swim Bournemouth.

Amy Brown added bronze in the junior girls’ 50m and 100m breaststroke while Ryan Symington was third in the junior 1500m freestyle.

Club captain Abi Manns won the 200m breaststroke B final.

Former Swim Bournemouth head coach Emma Richards is joining Poole’s coaching staff in a supporting role.

She will use her experience to help other coaches develop a swimming pathway, provide cover for performance coaches and personally coach the club’s 30-strong squad of Bournemouth University students.