TWO teenage 10-pin bowlers from Kent have been called up to represent England at the European Youth Championships.

Kirsty Belchem, 17, and 16-year-old Chelsie Pyle, from Whitstable YBC, have been selected as members of the national squad for the trip to Helsinki, Finland, in March.

They are part of a six-strong team who will take part in the 10-day tournament against 29 other countries.

The pair were selected after good showings at the Junior Team England trials in September. They have been training in a provisional eight-girl squad over several weekends in Sheffield and Ipswich.

Both girls have represented Kent at under-14, under-16 and under-18 age groups with individual and team success, and have recently taken part in under-24 roll-offs.

St Anselm’s pupil Belchem has been bowling for Whitstable since the age of six and fits her practice around studying for her A-levels. Pyle has been at the club – which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year – since she was eight and is a former pupil of the Chaucer Technology School in Canterbury.