FOLKESTONE Sports Centre Swimming Club's life-savers have won the Royal Life-saving Society Kent Branch Life-saving Skills Championships for the first time since 1996.

The Folkestone club sent a squad of 15 life-savers to the championships, which were held at the Black Lion Pool in Gillingham. Their ages ranged from 10 years to adult.

They were divided into four junior teams of three (aged 15 years and under) and a senior team of three. The senior team included Jackie Jones, who was making a return to competitive life-saving after a 28-year absence.

The championships consisted of a variety of tows plus head first and feet first surface diving.

Competitors were marked solely on technique so age differences were of less significance than in other types of competitive life-saving.