THE Kent women’s sabre title has been taken by a 13-year-old girl.

Annabel Church, who is to join the King’s School, Canterbury, when she leaves Northbourne junior school in the summer, won the final against her Canterbury Fencing Club colleague Rachel Bramley, 23, at the University of Kent, to become the youngest ever winner of a women’s senior title in the county.

King’s School coach Paul Romang, who was refereeing the tournament, as well as coaching, said: "Annabel is an excellent fencer with a big future. She is fencing miles ahead of her age."

Third equal in the event were two more Canterbury fencers, Joe Maynard and Mollie Heslip, who was also third in the women’s epee.

King’s pupil Jacob Colligan, an England fencer from Surrey, won the men’s sabre, beating club-mate Connor McCarthy in the final.

The men’s epee went to world veteran champion Ralph Johnson, of Tenterden, who beat Cantebury Fencing Club’s Alex Brentnall 15-12 in the final, with King’s School team captain Marc Chapman third.