TWO junior canoe teams from Weymouth made a big splash at the national lifeguard championships.

The British Canoe Union Lifeguard Champ-ionships held at the Cotswold Water Park near Swindon attracted teams from all over the country.

Weymouth sent two teams to compete in both the junior and adult competitions with one winning the junior title outright.

Weymouth 1, consisting of teenagers Karl Sargent, Elliot Green and Toby Etheridge took away the winning trophy, despite the three members never having competed together before.

They followed that up with third in the adult event.

The second team consisting of Stuart Miller, Jon Payne and Robert Shaw only decided to enter the championships two days before and finished third in the junior and fifth in the adult event.

To win the prize the teams had to perform in a series of rescue and skill events and unknown incidents over two days of competition.

The unknown incident scenarios included a swan herd with fishing hooks stuck in her hand and a group of missing canoeists.

Damian Locke, chairman of Weymouth Canoe Life-guards, said: "Both teams performed really well and considering they were all aged 15 and 16 they showed focus and level heads.

"About 10 years ago we won nearly all the trophies but we have struggled in recent years to get enough people. I hope this is a sign that we are getting back to those days because it is a great way for youngsters to do something worthwhile."

The group is looking for more volunteers to join its ranks. Anyone interested should call 01305 848456.