TWO young badminton players from the district combined to scoop a national trophy.

Hexham's Charlotte Graham again teamed up with long term partner Tim Bodani, of Ponteland, to clinch victory in the mixed doubles at the weekend's Badminton England U15 Tees Valley Tournament at the weekend.

The pair went undefeated in the competition

Their gold medal rounded off a great day for Northumberland, with several medals won elsewhere.

Charltotte and Amy Ward won silver in the girls' doubles after losing to their Yorkshire opponents in the final, finishing one place ahead of Lucy Dodd, of Ponteland, and Morpeth's Ellen Davison.

Meanwhile, Ponteland's James Dodd was runner-up in the boys' single as he went down to Scotland's Scott MacKenzie in the final.

James and Jack Tilbury went on to take bronze in the boys' doubles as they were joined by Hugh Twelves, all three coming from Ponteland.

But the gold from Charlotte and Tim was the highlight for the county, starting with a 21-6 victory over Cumbria before following it up with a 21-12 success over Yorkshire.

The strength of depth in the county was shown when the pair faced James and Lucy Dodd in the final, making it a Northumberland 1,2.

Charlotte said: "It was a successful day for Northumberland. This has been a massive stepping stone, not just for me and Tim, but for the whole team who have improved so much this year and I wouldn't be able to achieve any thing without them!

"Silver medal in the doubles with Amy was a good result as we only lost one game to a strong Yorkshire pair.

"But I knew there was a chance of going one better in the mixed doubles later with Tim."

The pair's involvement was in doubt even before a shuttlecock was hit after Charlotte tripped on the stairs - twice!

She suffered cuts to both legs, but received medical attention and declared fit for action.

She said: "I could tell that Tim was a bit concerned as he’d only just arrived for the mixed doubles and there I was receiving treatment after tripping up on the stairs!

"It wasn’t going to stop me competing as I knew we had a good chance of a medal. I just had to add another plaster after the first match to stop the bleeding.

"Thankfully, it didn’t affect me on court and we managed to win every game.

"I think the partnership works well because we stay positive and encourage each other, even if there’s a mistake or something unlucky during a game. We just get on with it."

Tim said: "I only entered mixed doubles for this tournament, and when I arrived in the afternoon Charlotte was getting treatment after two falls on the stairs.

"Luckily, she was fine and it did not affect our chances. I think we did well because we stayed calm and considered each game carefully."

All players will represent Northumberland U15 on Sunday in the North-Midway Tournament, in Sheffield, facing the top players in the northern region.