MARTIAL arts world champion Connor Allen, 17, is a part of Team GB and hopes to move into coaching in the future.

He was among those recognised at the 2014 Pride of Somerset Youth Awards.

The Huish Episcopi Academy student has not let early hearing loss hold him back and excels in the sixthform, combining his studies with training and competition.

Later this year he is set to go to America and Thailand to compete and he enjoys being part of Team GB so much he hopes to become a coach for other disabled athletes in the future.

The awards are run by the Rotary Club of Taunton, your Somerset County Gazette, Bridgwater Mercury, Chard and Ilminster News, Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News and local radio station BBC Somerset.

A prize fund came from sponsorship from the Rotary Club, Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Somerset Cricket Museum and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.

Certificates were presented at Somerset College’s conference centre in Taunton, which was provided free by the college.

For a gallery of photos from the presentation night, click on the related links on this page and to watch video footage from the ceremony, which took place on March 7, see below.