Deal's Michelle Spragg has gone from years of recreational angling to England gold medallist - in little more than six months.

Spragg, 46, a member of Deal Marines, Deal 1919 and Broadstairs & St Peters Angling Society, was named as a reserve for the England ladies' squad which beat Scotland, Wales and Ireland to win the Sea Angling Liaison Committee Home Internationals in Weymouth on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.

The event proved a triumph for Kent, with Spragg's fellow Deal angler, Saul Page, helping England's men to silver while Sittingbourne's Maralyn Wicks was, like Spragg, part of the ladies' squad.

And it was through Spragg's friendship with Page that she got the opportunity to trial for England in the first place.

She said: "I fished a few big matches last year and at a competition in Ramsgate in December 2021 Saul introduced me to Mark Hurcombe, the England ladies' manager.

"Mark said he was aware of my results and asked me if I was interested in fishing for England ladies. Initially I thought he was joking - I thought he was having a laugh.

"They had a development weekend at Folkestone in January where I met the rest of the girls. We had a day in the classroom where we went over things like how to tie rigs, bait presentation and knots. Then we had a session on the beach - how to cast, how to prepare our gear - before finishing with a competition.

"It was at another development weekend at Preston beach in Weymouth when the selectors came down and at the beginning of April we got told who was selected by letter.

"I was jumping for joy when I got the news - I felt like a schoolkid again. I had had a wobble at one of the development weekends - I hadn't done my research properly - but everything I was asked to change, I changed."

Although Spragg was named as reserve, the role is anything but sitting on the sidelines, waiting to replace a poorly-performing teammate.

Instead she had a tactical part to play, described by teammates as the most important role - keeping a watching brief on opponents' methods as the sides attempt to outdo each other in the battle for glory.

She explained: "I thought I'd wait for someone to be poorly, but being a reserve is so important - you feed your teammates vital information.

"If I see the opposition catching a fish and I can see what rig they are using, I'll pass that information on. If I notice bait presentation in a different way, I'll pass it on.

"And if the girls aren't catching, I'll provide encouragement to raise their spirits.

"I'm proud I got picked. I'm still part of the team and we all got a gold medal. Roll on next year!"