Athletes score double success; WALSALL.

TWO young Walsall athletes are celebrating after scoring a double success at county level.

Walsall Junior Athletics Club members Tom Hinton and Laura Hopcroft both won their respective events in the Staffordshire and Warwickshire County Athletics Championships.

Tom, who attends Shelfield Sports and Community College, won the under 15s boys 400m with a record time of 53.1 secs, eclipsing the previous best performance of 54 secs which had stood since 1980.

Laura, a pupil at Barr Beacon Language College, recorded a time of 2mins 34 secs in the under 13s 800m to win gold. She is also a member of Birchfield Harriers.

Both are regular attendees at Walsall Junior Athletics Club, run by Steve Walton, Walsall Council's athletics development officer.

He said: "Tom is a superb young athlete with the right mental approach. He has the potential to go far. He started as an original Walsall Junior Athletics Club member and has since joined Tipton Harriers.

"He deserves this new record as he has worked hard throughout the winter both at the club and at Tipton. "

"Laura is also passionate about her athletics and I am very proud of them."

Success for the pair follows that of another 14-year-old Walsall youngster, Manzu-Lyn Cain, from Bluecoat School, who won a silver medal in the under-15s 800m at the Midland Counties Indoor Athletics Championships in February.