A SET of talented judo-playing triplets from Darlington are well on their way to making their mark on the international stage.

Katherine, Nichola and Sarah James, who are all members of the Dolphin Judo Club in the town, train regularly with the Great Britain squad after taking up the sport only three years ago.

Katherine has already tasted international success, recently winning a silver medal when representing her country in the under 36 kilos category at a tournament in Belgium.

The competition in Brussels, in which ten countries took part, was the 13-year-old's first taste of international action for Great Britain.

Her sisters are blessed with a similar amount of ability in the sport and all will be pushing hard for a place in forthcoming tournaments this year in Portugal and Bulgaria.

The sisters' proud father Richard said: "There's very little difference between them and hopefully they will all go on to represent their country. If they develop at different paces, they might represent Great Britain in the same tournament, which would be marvellous."

The trio are also keen athletes, having represented Quakers Running Club in various cross country events, and love sport in general.

But their introduction to judo came as something of a surprise to their father.

He said: "About three years ago I was training with a friend to do a marathon. His daughter used to babysit for us and asked the girls if they would like to go to judo with her.

"But I didn't know they were actually taking part until I went to pick them up and saw them rolling around on the mat. I thought they were just watching."

The girls train once a month with the British squad at various venues, once a month with the Northern squad and twice a week with the Dolphin club.