A Muay Thai boxer from West Kirby has been crowned Best Young Martial Artist of the Year 2018.

Joe Ryan, 14 and a student at St Anselm's, received the title after battling out against 13 young sports stars shortlisted for Warrior Collective Best Young Martial Artist of the Year 2018 award.

Training and fighting out of 2 Brothers Gym in Birkenhead, Joe has won 48 out of 57 fights and is unbeaten in the UK for more than four years.

Currently Yokkao World Champion, Joe has fought across the globe in countries such as Turkey, Ukraine, Thailand, Italy, Belarus and Cyprus.

In order to win the prestigious title, Joe had to get the most likes, comments and shares on his YouTube entry video.

The video entry features Joe, his dad Karl plus family friend and Muay Thai figure Vinny Shoreman.

Dad Karl said: "He’s a hardworking young man, easy to train, easy to coach and it's the same with school, he excels in everything he does.

"He gets up in the morning goes for a run on his own accord, trains himself – I just pour water in his mouth!

"He’s committed and intelligent, he reads people and watches. He watches fights and notices little things that work, experiments with them in the gym.

"He just doesn’t go and fight, he thinks about his technique beforehand."