DARRON McQuillan’s commitment to karate spanning over a quarter of a century has been recognised on the national stage.

In honour of his continued achievements, Woolston Karate Club’s chief instructor has been inducted into the UK Martial Arts Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Burton-upon-Trent.

Considering he only restarted his career to "put a tick on his bucket list," it has been a surreal journey for McQuillan.

The 54-year-old – a fifth dan black belt in the sport – did not compete for 17 years but since coming out of retirement in 2016, the honours have kept rolling in to lead to this most prestigious prize.

That year’s WUKF World Championships in Dublin reignited his career, leading to him competing regularly at events throughout the UK and even globally.

Since then, he has never been out of the top four in the national 36+ veterans’ category for Kata and two UWK English Championship titles, a WUFK European medal, Four Nations titles and selection to represent the UWK England team have followed.

In looking forward to 2020, McQuillan is working towards the WUKF World Championships in July – where he will be joined by five of his Woolston Karate Club students on the AKA England squad.

Rebecca and Laura Cameron, Ruby Owen, Jasmin Thomas and Lexi Taylor have all been selected to compete in the tournament, which is being held in Sczcenin in Poland.

McQuillan currently runs the club with fellow instructors John Cameron and his daughter Rebecca.

He said: “We want to inspire our students and pass on are knowledge and experience, be it to those who want to learn karate or those who want to compete.”

He runs sessions from the Birchwood Scout Centre on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.

For more information about Woolston Karate Club, call 07956419917.