WYESHAM man Tony Martin is celebrating after receiving a call-up to the Great British squad where he will compete in this summer's BMX UCI World Championships in Belgium.

The 42-year-old picked up enough qualifying points from regional and national events across the country to book a place in this year's world championships to be held at Circuit Zolder.

This is the first time Tony has qualified for the world championships. He said: "This event will take my racing to another level."

Although Tony is the current south west champion and is standing ninth in the national ranking for the 40-44 age group and 24 inch bike category, he still admits feeling slightly nervous about the event, but will brush off his nerves to compete.

He said: "I am going to Zolder full of excitement and determination.

"I have been racing BMX on and off since 1982 and still get the same enjoyment from the sport now as I did when I was a kid.

"It's great to have been part of BMX racing from its early days in the 80s and watch it develop into an Olympic sport.

"Now I have qualified for the world championships it's put the icing on the cake."

Tony is currently training with his daughter Amber two to three times a week at the Hereford BMX track where he is also a committee member.

The world championships will take place from the 21st to 24th July.