Kidderminster Samurai Judo Club's Kate Walker and Sarah Wilson are celebrating after winning bronze medals at the British Junior National Championships.

And Louise Dunne was unlucky to finish just one place outside the medals, while the club had two other quarter-finalists.

Seven Samurai players finished first or second in a tough Midlands trials two months ago to secure their place at the finals at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre.

Walker, 11, started against the current Welsh champion and secured a good win despite initial nerves.

She looked comfortable in her second contest and was leading before conceding a marginally higher score against the eventual finalist with just a few seconds left.

However, the irrepressible youngster bounced back with a series of four impressive wins to take her to the contest for bronze, where she came up against the other Midlands player.

At the trials, Walker had made a single mistake and lost in the final but this time she threw the girl for a spectacular maximum point score to win the bronze.

Wilson, 16, took a bronze last year and hoped for a repeat.

She started out brightly but then went forward too quickly and was thrown for a maximum score.

This left Wilson to fight her way through the repechage for the bronze medal.

She eventually faced last year's other bronze medallist, from the south, in her last contest and a beautiful inner thigh throw gave her maximum points for the bronze.

Black belt Dunne, also a medalist last year, was desperately unlucky.

In a category where every player bar one was a black belt, she fought her way to the semi-finals with style.

But Dunne is now at university and unable to train to the standard she is used to so she struggled a little with the pace.

She lost the semi-final and then reached the fight-off for bronze only to be edged out after starting well.

Emmy Kimberley, in her first year of judo, looks one of the club's brightest hopes and she defeated many, including the current British champion, in the Midlands trials.

Some good early work, including an excellent maximum point throw, took her to the national quarter-finals where she was out-manoevred.

A desperate battle to reach the bronze play-offs ended in a close defeat.

Cheryl Williams also reached the quarter-finals before losing and in the boys, there was a lovely maximum point throw from Ben Newbury before he was eliminated. Matt Dutton was unlucky not to progress further.

Samurai club is open until next Wednesday and then closes until January 2nd.