A TRAINEE beauty therapist gets her kicks away from the cosseted world of the salon.

By day, Rebecca Carey gives facials, manicures and other beauty treatment to customers at the Visage salon, in Langley Park, County Durham.

But on several evenings and at weekends she hones her skills, throwing, kicking and blocking opponents on the kung fu mat.

She impressed coaches at the North-East Destroyers Kung Fu club with her ability to such an extent that she was entered into last month's World Championship qualifying event, in London.

She more than lived up to head coach George Carr's expectations, earning a bronze medal in the women's 55kg competition.

It earned her one of the four places at the 55kg category in the English team for next year's World Championship, in Cyprus.

Seventeen-year-old Rebecca will join her national team-mates for several training camps before they fly out in March.

A "purple sash" in the martial art, she hopes to move up to become a brown belt, one down from coveted black belt status, by the time she teams up with the England squad in the New Year.

She said her hobby away from work has become a talking point among colleagues and customers, raising a few eyebrows.

She said: "I do not think they expect someone doing beauty therapy to be interested in something like kung fu."

"I suppose it just shows a different side to me," added Rebecca, of Langley Park.

Apart from advancing in kung fu, she also hopes to improve her qualifications in beauty therapy in coming months.

On one of the few spare evenings when she is not practising her kung fu skills, she attends night classes at New College Durham, taking her certificate 1 and 2 in make-up and nail treatment.