WARRIORS of Warrington will have three young swimmers competing at senior level for the first time in the British Championships this week.

The highly rated Tim Almond is still only 14 but will compete against some of the best swimmers in the country in the men's 100m and 200m open age breaststroke events in Manchester, with qualifying starting on Monday.

Fifteen-year-old Aisha Thornton will race in the women's 1500m freestyle, while 17-year-old Jonathan Gatley will compete in the 100m and 200m individual medley events.

All three have done well to reach the British Championships, which run until April 1, at this stage of their careers and they will also be bidding to qualify for European competition in July.

Thornton and Gatley are eligible to compete in the European Junior Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, while Almond is at the right age to enter the European Youth Olympic Festival in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.

But the trio will need to smash their personal bests at the British Championships to qualify for those summer events, with Almond - crowned the top 13-year-old swimmer in the country last year - having the best chance.

The Padgate Community High School pupil represented Warriors in the first round of the Cheshire County Championships in Macclesfield at the weekend, finishing second in the 14-year-old boys' 400m individual medley and posting a national qualifying time (NQT) in that event and in the 400m freestyle.

Warriors, who will compete in the second round of the championships in Stockport this weekend, bagged eight gold medals in Macclesfield.

Matthew Verdon won gold and registered NQTs in the 13-year-old boys' 400m freestyle, the 100m freestyle and the 400m individual medley - breaking a meet record in the 400m freestyle event.

Hannah Wallis won two golds, a silver and a bronze in the 10-year-old girls' section, while Jordan Barlow won two golds and a silver and swam two NQTs in the 12-year-old boys' category.

Ewan Miller won gold and silver in the 10-year-old boys' section, with Michael Tujeshyn winning two silvers and a bronze in the 15-year-old boys' category and Aimee Harvey picking up a silver in the 11-year-old girls' section.

Sophie Robinson and Caitlin McNicholas both won bronze medals in the same section, while Victoria Boswell grabbed two bronzes in the 15-year-old girls' category and Martin Holmes claimed a bronze medal and an NQT in the 13-year-old boys' section.