Young Irish dancers have been competing in a global competition to help England defend their title.

Performers as young as eight from The Linda Fryday Academy of Irish Dance have travelled to Jersey to take part in the Dance World Cup.

The dance school holds classes at Dartford Girls Grammar School and Istead Rise.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Dartford, Cllr John Burrell and Eija Burrell visited the school to wish them luck ahead of the week-long competition which was due to end this weekend.

The international contest involves more than 12,000 competitors from 38 countries competing in qualifiers in their own countries before going on to the World Finals each year.

It is the largest all-genre dance competition in the world for children and young adults.

Lianne Higgins, from the dance school, said: “The Linda Fryday Academy of Irish Dance was asked to return to the Dance World Cup in Jersey this year to see if we can help England defend their reign as winners.

“A group of dancers as young as eight left on June 25 for a week of an amazingly high standard of dance competition.”

It is the second time the academy has taken part in the World Cup. They competed last year when it was held in Bucharest, Romania.

To find out more about the academy, visit www.frydaysacademy.co.uk