RAIL bosses have stepped in to help East Durham’s two karate athletes keep their international careers on the right track.

Liam Conroy, 16, and Aaron Swales, 23, have both had a string of successes and medals wins in recent months.

Aaron recently returned from the European Karate Championships in Greece, while Liam took the national cadet crown in his weight and age category at the English Championships.

The pair were invited to take part in a hastily arranged demonstration to showcase their talent at a martial arts extravaganza this weekend alongside the best in Britain – but were having difficulties getting transport to the event.

The Seni event is being held on Saturday and Sunday at London’s Excel Centre.

Bosses at East Coast trains, which operates the East Coast mainline, heard about the pairs plight and offered to shuttle them down to the capital.

The pair, who are both England internationals, train at the East Durham Ishinryu karate club, based at East Durham College, in Peterlee.

Aaron said: “This is an amazing opportunity to show what we can do in front of what promises to be a massive crowd at one of the world’s biggest martial arts events.

 “It was put together pretty quickly and we were going to struggle to get there – but thanks to East Coast we can represent the region, our country and karate. It is a great gesture and we will do them proud.”

 Aaron fights in the U-75kg weight category, while Liam took the honours at the English National Championships in the 14-15yrs U-57kg event.

He has now 16 and is hoping to use his appearance at the Seni event to impress England selectors further as he steps up to the junior categories.

East Coast spokesman Paul Williams said: “When we heard about Aaron and Liam’s situation, we were happy to help. We know how important grassroots sport is in the North-East.

“East Coast runs 60 trains every weekday between the North East and London, so there’s bound to be a train to get them to the capital in time for Saturday’s festival.”