WEYMOUTH windsurfer Tom Wells is celebrating after winning the British Slalom Association Series youth prize.

Wells, 18, competed in four events to win the title and achieved his best result in Tenby.

He finished sixth racing in the professional fleet against some very experienced and accomplished windsurfers.

“Tenby was my favourite event,” he said. “I gained my best result there and got to try my new Tabou kit.

“It was made better as not much wind had been forecasted, but actually it was stronger than expected which is always nice.”

To achieve such fantastic results, Wells, pictured competing, attends the gym more than four times a week and is a keen runner and cyclist.

He competes in triathlons and gets out on the water as much as possible when the wind conditions are right.

However, Wells has recently taken on an apprenticeship at BH Marine, a company specialising in a range of services including training and yacht management.

His role is made up of “interesting and varied tasks” and has already included a training course in sea survival.

Wells has also started a part-time marine engineering course at Bournemouth and Poole College.

While enjoying the development and learning opportunities offered by the apprenticeship, making time for windsurfing training has been more of a challenge for the teenager.

Wells, sponsored by GA Sails and Tabou, which is arranged through the Official Test Centre (OTC), feels he is constantly improving.

“I recently got some new gear,” he added. “It’s encouraging to see how much of an improvement it makes to my performance.

“I have also been working on my starts which are massively important to success.”

In the future, Wells would like to feature on the PWA World Windsurfing Tour and next year he hopes to compete in a range of international events.

Meanwhile, over the winter he will be competing in the OTC Winter Slalom Series and training at weekends to help improve his positions in next year’s events.