Three firefighters from Oxfordshire are flying the flag for Britain in the World Firefighter Games next month.

Witney station manager Chris Wilson and firefighters Richard Woodward, from Oxford, and Chris Jarvis, from Banbury, will travel to Liverpool for the bi-annual event, which runs from from August 25 to September 3.

Mr Wilson, a third dan black belt in karate, will referee two events, karate and powerlifting.

Mr Woodward will compete in the judo event and Mr Jarvis will take part in a challenge to find the toughest firefighter.

The games, which attract about 2,000 competitors, have been held in the past in Hong Kong, Sydney and Las Vegas.

Originally from Liverpool, Mr Wilson, a firefighter in Oxfordshire for 15 years, has almost 25 years' experience competing in and teaching martial arts.

advertisement He said he was honoured to be invited to the games as a referee.

He added: "In my role as a fire officer and representative of the local fire and rescue service, I will be helping all the competitors from Oxfordshire, directing them and looking after them, and also assisting in other events as a volunteer.

"It's great to see the games in my home town and I feel very proud that we can represent the service and our country."

Mr Wilson, who lives in Banbury, previously competed at local, national and international level.

Proceeds from the games will go to the Firefighters Charity, which supports firefighters and their families.

This year crews across Oxfordshire have raised £121,000 for charity, with £87,000 being donated to the Fire Service Benevolent Fund and the rest going to organisations including Children in Need, an Oxfordshire disabled persons' charity, the air ambulance and the local Association for the Blind.

For more information about the games, log on at www.wfg08.com

  • A super-fit team of firefighters from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service won a gruelling challenge to scale the highest mountains in England, Scotland and Wales.

The team, consisting of firefighters Andy Smallwood, Mick Dunn, Mike Swadling and Gary Crone, from Kidlington; Simon Piper, from Banbury; and Andrew Dubowski, from Woodstock, took just 15 hours, 56 minutes to scale Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands, Scafell Pike in the Lake District and Snowdon, in North Wales, including travelling time.

They finished ahead of 65 other teams taking part in the national fire service Three Peaks Challenge.

They were driven between the mountains by Tony Druce and Dave Bull.