EVESHAM Royal Marines cadet Alex Ludlow has been selected to represent the 2018 Great Britain freestyle kayaking team at the European Championships.

The 16-year-old, who attends Redditch and Bromsgrove Sea Cadets, will join GB in Bratislava, Slovakia, from Thursday until Sunday this week to compete against teams from across Europe.

He said: “I’m definitely looking forward to it, it’s my first real international competition and it’s my first time travelling abroad.

"It’s been a real pleasure having Sea Cadets help me on my first one.”

Ludlow, who joined the cadets as a junior, made the squad for the first time last year.

He said: “You get trials every year but I’ve always had to train myself because money has been a bit tight and personal training is expensive.

"But last year I went for it, got into the squad and then I started speaking to more people and bouncing off them. This year I went for it again and it paid off.”

The squads are made up of five members who train with the team but don’t compete, one reserve and three competitors.

This year the former The De Montfort School pupil skipped reserve and went straight into the team.

The competition will see Ludlow and his two team-mates complete as many highly-skilled moves — from loops to cartwheels — in a 45-second period.

They will do three runs and the best two are counted towards their score.

Ludlow added: “Being part of the Sea Cadets has helped massively because outside of cadets I’ve been funding it all myself.

"I’m classed as a young carer for my dad and he can’t do much work and my mum tries to earn as much as she can so I’ve had to pay for it all. I’m only 16 so I don’t have a huge wage.”

During his time with the cadets, Ludlow has been able to regularly kayak, completing many courses and becoming a fully-qualified instructor.

He has even managed to get a place at Hartpury College.

Ludlow added: “I think I use Sea Cadets as an escape from home, not that it’s a bad thing but it’s just nice to get out of the house which is part of why I did it.

"Now that I’ve made the team it feels like it has all been worth it.

"It’s an honour to represent my country and next year I’ll definitely be aiming for worlds which would be a big achievement.”

Sea Cadets captain Phil Russell said: “Alex really embodies the ethos and values of Sea Cadets.

"He's shown great determination and self-discipline to be in this position and everyone at Sea Cadets is immensely proud of his achievements.

"We wish him and the rest of Team GB every success at the competition.”