AN ALTRINCHAM skating team's members have proved themselves to be world beaters.

The UK Silverblades Inline skating team has returned from the 7th World Open inline championships, held in Dijon, France, with an incredible haul of medals.

The 13-strong team, aged between seven and 19, between them won seven world titles, along with one silver, three bronze, one fourth, a fifth and seventh place.

They were competing against 350 skaters from 15 countries over the weekend beginning June 30.

They took a trophy in every category they entered.

Head coach at Altrincham Ice Rink, Donna McCarthy, is the driving force behind the club.

She said: "These girls are all dedicated to their sport and work so hard in practice, but above all they love skating and enjoy doing it. 

"It has been a pleasure to see them progress and watch their confidence grow. 

" I knew they would do well at the competition, but this is beyond my wildest dreams. 

"We are all incredibly proud."

Inline skating is a comparatively new and fast growing sport It involves wheels instead the blades you would find on ice skates and it allows the skater to perform all the spins jumps and fancy footwork spectators would expect to see on the ice.  It is gaining in popularity in countries where they don't have ice rinks. 

However, all of the girls in UK Silverblades team are also ice-skaters - starting on the Skate Excellence learn to skate courses at the Ice rink and then moving on to more advanced levels. 

Donna helped the girls transfer their skills to inline skating.

The team aims to attend further international competitions ahead of next year's world championships.