A DENTAL engineer has reached the top in a Latin American dance competition.

Tom Goundry, 43, was a reluctant recruit to dancing, but after coaxing from his daughter, Nicola, 22, and her dance teacher, he took up Latin American dancing five years ago.

Mr Goundry, from Shildon, recently won a trophy at the International Dance Teachers' Association (IDTA) championships, held in Blackpool, with his dance partner, Catherine Laverick, from Darlington.

He works as a dental engineer, repairing and fixing dental equipment.

Mr Goundry said: "I've only been dancing a relatively short time. My daughter, Nicola, had been dancing for years and then my wife got interested, but I swore blind I would never set foot on a dance floor.

"My daughter's teacher said 'I'll get your dad dancing', but I always arrived with training shoes on because I played football. Then one day I went over with ordinary shoes on and they got me involved. About six weeks after that I entered my first competition and won."

Last year Mr Goundry, from Eskdale Gardens, and Ms Laverick came third in the same competition, despite the fact that he was due in hospital for a knee operation and she was six months pregnant.

Mr Goundry also ballroom dances with his wife, and his daughter dances at competition level.