THREE members of an Ivybridge family have achieved their black belts in tae kwon do at the same time, despite a bit of an age gap.

Steve Pitcher, who turned 50 in April and his 11-year-old twin girls Katie and Jenny all qualified for the belts after five years of hard training.

Steve and the girls trained with South Coast Martial Arts, which runs family friendly sessions around the Plymouth area, and underwent grading by a senior external examiner. All three were delighted to be judged to have made the grade.

Steve said: ’It has been a really valuable experience to have a common interest with the girls over such a long time. Apart from keeping us all fit and flexible it has offered the girls so many opportunities to learn about commitment to a long term aim, coping with pressure, bouncing back after failure and defending themselves if necessary.

’The club has a brilliant approach; it’s all about respect, self discipline, courtesy and control and the instructors go out of their way to help everyone do their best.’

The family intend to keep working, and will now be able to help the next generation of tae kwon do students start their journey to black belt.