PADGATE gymnast Chris Carter has been winning major titles for fun and he is brimming with confidence on the eve of his first world championships assault.

The 18-year-old Priestley College student won gold medals at the last three Sports Acrobatics British Championships.

He also enjoyed a clean sweep of wins at international trials in Newcastle and is delighted to have been given the nod by Great Britain selectors for May's Sports Acrobatics World Championships in France.

His father, Chris Carter Snr, said: "My son competes in the Men's Four group and the team have been performing exceptionally well.

"They have earned their world championships shot on merit and I'm sure they will do well in France.

"The sport is not a branch of the Olympics so the world championships are the pinnacle as far as they are concerned."

The team have been in Belgium this week defending their Flanders Cup title.

The event boasts teams from Belgium, Holland, England and America but the team's biggest competition to date was the 2003 Sports Acrobatics European Championships in Poland.

Carter and his teammates won a bronze medal in the Europeans to underline their international pedigree.

Chris Carter Snr said: "I am very proud of my son's sporting achievements.

"He is a member of the Warrington Gymnastics Club but he trains at a centre of excellence in Wakefield. He travels three hours a day and he also trains three hours a day.

"He works very hard at the sport and the main thing as far as I'm concerned is that he enjoys it."