A NORTH-EAST student has returned from a major international sports tournament with a fistful of medals after literally bowling over her opponents.

Jenny Billingham, 17, of Broompark, near Durham, was part of Great Britain's ten-pin bowling team for the Commonwealth Youth Games, in Australia.

Jenny, a student at Durham Sixth Form College, was one of four youngsters who flew to Bendigo, near Melbourne.

She said: "It was totally fantastic. It's something I have never done before. I have only been to bowling tournaments before - this included every sport."

She won gold in the girls' doubles, silver in the singles, bronze in the team event and overall bronze.

Her team members were Holly Towersey, from London, Gareth Stone, from Leeds, and Sean Crake, from Sheffield.

They were selected from a GB squad of 12 that took part in the European championships in Germany earlier this year.

In Australia, Jenny stayed with 120 other British teenagers and hundreds of young competitors from around the globe.

Her father, Martin, who was there to cheer her on along with mother Val, said: "She did terrifically.

"It is a great achievement, especially when you consider that ten-pin bowling is not a big a sport here as it is in, say, Malaysia or Singapore, where schools are based around the sport."

Jenny is in her A-level year studying classics, law and sports science. She started bowling when she was nine and hopes to go on to complete a degree in sports therapy.