A TEAM of cheerleaders from York and Selby have celebrated their best ever haul of trophies at a regional competition.

Fantasy Cheer, based in Canon Lee School and at The Venue in Selby, took 145 performers to the Ice Northern Frostbite competition last month, along with about 170 spectators.

The competition was the regional heat, and the team won 12 trophies - including five first and second places, a third and a fourth place.

Head coach and founder of the team Natalie Lyon, from Acomb, said she was especially happy that the team won the Spirit Award - something they had been aiming for at previous events.

Natalie, 29, said: "That's the highest award of the day, and goes to the team which cheers for everyone and just shows really good sportsmanship all day.

"We're really proud of that because we've never won it. We aim for that more than first place, not just because it's the largest trophy but it also teaches the kids it's not just about winning, but taking part and supporting the other teams and encouraging them to make friends with the other competitors."

Fantasy Cheer has about 200 members, aged between three and 27-years-old, and was set up by Natalie and her mother Jackie 11 years ago, who still run the team around their everyday jobs.

Natalie said she was particularly proud to see former cheerleading pupils who had gone on to coach other teams in the competition, and they will next appear at the national event in July.

She said: "We put a lot of girls through their coaching exams and qualifications to be coaches, so for me the best thing was seeing the teams they've started to coach and their reactions to the kids they've helped train. There were a lot of tears, it was very emotional."