REDDITCH jet-skier Andy Rich has sped off with the JSRA British Winter Championship after a dramatic end to the series.

The 19-year-old racer from Greenlands was in fourth position after the first three rounds at Tyram Lake, near Doncaster, and Willen Lake in Milton Keynes. But Rich managed to pull out all the stops to take the final round of the Roundabout Class at Tatershall Country Park and scrape the championship victory by just three points.

He said: "It was a shock because I was going into it after a poor previous round and had a bit of mechanical trouble.

"It was a real battle all the way."

Rich says he's now ready to step up into the sports' elite classes which could see him in the Euopean or World Championships in the near future.

He said: "It's definitely my ambition to get to the European Championships but it's difficult because of my committment to the Army.

"The Army have been really supportive so far in letting me have weekends off to go racing but it would take a lot more to get to the Europeans."

It's not the first time the jet-skier has been top of the shop after scooping the same title in the Open Class in 2001.

Proud dad Mike said: "Andy's only missed two races in the past five years one due to concussion and another time because of breaking both of his legs - even then he still wanted to race!"