THEY are best friends and they are also the disco-dancing world champions.

Proud trio Amy Walker, nine, Sophie Dickson, nine, both from Marske, and Aimi Birkbeck, eight, from Redcar, have been taking their trophies to school each day since they won them on Sunday.

And even their dance instructor Vicky Cook couldn't hold back the tears when her young protgs won the trophy, in Birmingham.

She said: "I cried and I never, ever cry at these competitions. But I've had Sophie coming here since she was four and the others for more than a year and I couldn't help it.

"Their parents were so proud and the girls were screaming and jumping about when they won. They were grabbing their parents' mobile phones to call their grandparents and screaming 'we're the world champions'."

Ms Cook said the girls and their parents had left Redcar at 5.15am on Sunday to get to the competition on time.

The girls did not have a set routine, but instead had to adapt their dancing to the sound of the music.

The girls, who attend the Dance Magic Studio, off Redcar High Street, have never won a major trophy before. They beat 12 other teams from across Britain to win the world title