WHEN his daughter expressed a desire to start karate, one Padgate dad did not expect to end up competing for his country alongside her.

Nearly a decade since Rebecca Cameron, now 17, began the sport, she joined dad John as part of an England squad heading to Slovenia for United World Karate Championships in Slovenia.

And it proved a successful trip, with the only father and daughter to compete in Koper both returning with a fourth-place finish.

The Cheshire Martial Arts Club pair spent six days in Slovenia, where an 80-strong England squad all achieved finishes inside the UWK World top 10.

Priestley College student Rebecca, 1st Dan, competed in the Kata and Kumite categories as part of the UWK England junior squad, while 50-year-old John, 2nd Dan, fought in the veterans' Kumite.

“Rebecca’s only been competing in Kata for about eight months, so to get there in the first place and then come fourth was a remarkable achievement,” said John, a quality engineer.

“We are always training together and I’m very proud of her.”

“I have been doing karate for 25 years or more, but this was the first big one I got selected for.

“It was a good experience. There were 45 countries and 1,200 athletes, so it was very big, and more prestigious an event than I have ever been involved in.”

And it was Rebecca’s curiosity in taking up karate as a child that encouraged John to rekindle his interest.

“I’ve been doing it a long time, but had a bit of a break,” explained John. “Then, when Rebecca was younger, she said she wanted to give it a go.

“That was the inspiration for me to get my gear out again and we started training when she was probably about eight or nine.

“We’ve been going since then and it’s good that we’ve got each other. We can train and learn together and we watch and support each other at events.”