SALE teenager Will Dyson has been selected as part of a 24-strong squad to represent Great Britain at the European Youth Sailing Championships in Gdynia, Poland next month.

The 17-year-old, who lives with his parents and younger brother on Manley Road, is an ex-pupil of Tyntesfield Primary School and Ashton on Mersey High School and first got introduced to sailing by his grandad, a member of Delph Sailing club in Bolton, at the age of five.

As he got older his parents were regularly undertaking the journey from Sale to Bolton as Dyson spent as much time as possible on the water competing in various club events.

This proved to be time well spent as at the age of 16 he became the North West Under-19 Youth champion - a title he is currently defending this year.

Away from the water, Dyson is currently studying for three A Levels in Business, Economics and Geography at Sir John Deane’s College in Northwich.

He will, however, take a break from his studies to become the only sailor from Greater Manchester and the North West to represent Great Britain in Poland, something his family and sailing club are incredibly proud of.

Ian Brown, the club development officer at Delph Sailing Club, said “What an incredible honour it is for Will to be invited to compete at a European level.

“This is testament to all the hard work and effort he has put into his Sailing.”

The youngster himself is overjoyed with his selection and said: “I can’t believe that I have been given this amazing opportunity to represent GB at a European event.

“I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that has helped and supported me to get this far.”

The sailor’s family have a fundraising web page aiming to raise money to help him achieve his dreams in Poland and are hoping people will log on to help.

Anyone interested in showing support can visit the page at https://localgiving.org/appeal/get-Will-to-Gdynia/