WITNEY kick-boxers Sue Reed and Laura Marshall have been crowned the best of British - and now they are ready to take on the world.

Sue, 20, of Curbridge, destroyed the opposition in the women's under 70k class at the WKA British Open Championships in Manchester, while Laura, of Witney, overpowered her rivals to take the under 15 girls' 45k crown.

Sue had to battle her way through nine contests before being crowned the champion in the new light continuous division.

And Laura, who attends Burford School, swept aside seven rivals on the way to her memorable triumph.

Mark Ingle, 3rd Dan kick-boxing instructor, from the Witney & District Kick-Boxing and Karate Association was overjoyed by their success.

"To get into the world championships is a one in a million chance," he said. "No-one has ever done it before from Oxford. It is incredible.

"They have trained seven days a week and you would not believe what they have gone through to get this far."

Now the pair can look forward to representing Britain in the first world championships in Denmark from July 30 to August 3.

Meanwhile, the Witney club have another reason to celebrate after fixing up a sponsorship deal worth several hundred pounds with Witney Fireplaces.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.