ALYSHA-PARIS and Faye Godfrey are two sisters you would not want to mess with.

The primary school pupils from Witney excelled in an international karate competition, returning from Italy with shining gold and bronze medals.

The girls have been practising the martial art from a very young age as their dad Benn works as a karate instructor. He took up the sport himself aged seven.

Both girls are delighted with their winning results, which has seen them become members of the England Karate Squad.

Alysha-Paris, nine, said: "Before the competition I felt very scared and nervous and after I finished the competition and had came third place I felt very proud of myself."

The Batt C of E School pupil trains four times a week.

Sister Faye, seven, a pupil at St Mary's Primary, said: "I felt slightly nervous before the competition and afterwards I was very shocked. I was so excited that I won gold first place."

Mum Tania, 31, a healthcare worker in Witney, said: "I was so happy for them to have the opportunity of going and competing abroad. It was the first time they had gone abroad.

"I actually didn't expect them to come back with anything.

"But when they did, I was so shocked. It's amazing."

The girls hope to compete abroad again but Mrs Godfrey said it depended on them receiving sponsorship.

She said: "There are loads of competitions they can go to but they need sponsors. There's one in Hawaii, Japan, Hungary and Las Vegas."

The pair, who train at the Batt school, the High Street Methodist Church in Witney and also in Carterton, plan to carry on competing, and are asking local firms for support.

Last week they thanked Adrian Bullock of Witney Snooker Club, who sponsored the girls before they went to the contest in Sardinia and helped them buy their karate equipment.

Any businesses or individuals able to support the girls in their martial arts endeavours should call Mrs Godfrey on 0777 2844348.