A FATHER and daughter martial arts duo punched and kicked their way to winning gold medals for Britain.

Paul and Danielle Smith beat top American and Canadian martial art experts at the 2006 World Congress of Martial Arts (WCMA) competition in the Dominican Republic.

Danielle, aged nine, competed in the girls' 9-11 age group in the freestyle karate fighting section of the World Goodwill Games and Paul competed in the adults' class.

Paul, 34-year-old owner of North West Warriors in Blenheim Road, Breightmet, said: "We are absolutely ecstatic at the fact that we have both become World Champions in our groups.

"All the hard work and many hours of training has really paid off and we both have got the result we set out for.

"I'm so proud of my daughter because she has only been training for two years and to achieve this is a huge accomplishment."

The trip to the Dominican Republic cost the family £6,000 and they had to pay for the trip themselves raising money to help with the cost.

Paul also won a bronze medal in the Kata section in which each fighter carries out a preset list of moves in front of a panel of five masters and are awarded for style and presentation.

Master Terry Johnston, Great Britain's national team coach, said: "They both did Great Britain proud and it's a privilege to have them on our team. It's a very rare duo and they get to defend their titles next year at the World Cup in Mexico."

Lewis Clarke, aged 19, from Bradley Fold, returned home from the event with a silver medal in the coloured belt section after being beaten to gold by a fellow Great Britain fighter.

Lewis said: "I was really gutted that I didn't get the gold but I suppose that if I was to lose, it is better losing to a fellow Brit."

Paul is the Chief Instructor at North West Warriors freestyle Karate/Kickboxing and anyone wanting to attend his training classes can ring 0777 914 2502.

The classes are 6pm to 7pm Little Warriors, 7pm to 8pm adults and juniors and 8pm to 9pm is ladies only kickboxing at the Leverhulme Park community club on Blenheim Road. Training also takes place on Saturday morning at 9.30am to 12pm at Breightmet library.