TWO local teams of youngsters swept the board at the Young Eagles skydiving competition at Netheravon.

And, the competitors had a celebrity skydiver to award them their medals - none other than Simon Thomas, of television's Blue Peter fame.

Now in its second year, the Young Eagles is a unique competition set up by skydiving mums and dads.

Competition organiser Rick Boardman said: "This is a skydiving competition with two main differences.

"Firstly, it's for under-16s, and secondly, there is no actual jumping out of aeroplanes - everything is simulated."

From an initial start with the children of skydivers, the competition has expanded to local youth, and both the junior and senior winning teams this year were from Wiltshire.

The Army Parachute Association made the competition possible by allowing free access to all the facilities.

Durrington swimming pool allowed two of the events to be staged there.

The Young Eagles competed in formation skydiving, canopy formation, freestyle and accuracy.

In the junior section, Shrewton-based Pumpkin Patch won gold medals in all four elements, while the senior team, from Figheldean, did just as well.

The Figheldean Fairies not only won gold in all events but Elice Watson, in her first year of the competition, scored the first-ever Young Eagles 'dead centre' in accuracy.

Local freefall school Wintersun Skydiving awarded an extra prize of custom-made jump suits to the four girls who made up the team.