AN England judo ace has been picking up the medals as he looks to cement his place in the national squad.

Furness Judo Club’s Harvey Burns has claimed a brace of bronzes across three ranking competitions.

The 13-year-old travelled to Walsall for the Midland Area Age Band Open Championships at the British Judo Centre of Excellence.

The first ranking event of the year attracts competitors from across the UK, and Burns fought well in the Pre Cadet under-42kg class.

He won his first three fights convincingly with some great judo to reach the semi-finals.

The last-four fight was evenly matched until Burns’s opponent had the better of him on the ground and held him down.

The defeat put Harvey into the bronze medal fight, which he dominated and won by a couple of small scores and penalties to give him a well-earned bronze.

Burns followed up in the North West Area Open Championships in Blackburn, where all the top UK judoka were again involved, as well as several teams from France.

Despite being ill for days before with tonsillitis, the Barrow teenager still decided to compete.

He fought well and won through the first three rounds to claim a place in the semi-finals, where he fought an opponent from the North East and was narrowly beaten by a small score.

Burns’s next fight was against a Scottish fighter for bronze.

He started the fight well, with his opponent giving away two penalty points to hand Burns the lead. However, towards the end of the fight, the Furness judoka was thrown for a controversial score. The video referee spent minutes watching the replay and awarded the score.

Defeat meant Burns claimed a top-five ranking place, though on another day and at full fitness results could have been different.

A short plane flight to the Northern Ireland Open at Foyles Arena, Londonderry was next.

Burns moved up a weight class to Pre Cadet under-46kg and was up against it from the start, giving away 3kg to his opponents.

This showed in his first fight, with his opponent earning a small score early in the fight and then using his extra strength to keep Burns at bay.

Although losing his first fight, he came back with two wins to put him in the bronze medal fight.

Burns dominated and eventually won with some great groundwork to hold his opponent down for the maximum score.

The youngster thanked Furness Academy for their continued support and Barrow Sports Council for their funding towards training costs.