'It's pretty cool to be the underdog' - Cornwall boy crowned world champion surfer

A 15-year-old from Perranporth has been crowned the best young surfer in the world, after winning in the world finals.

Lukas Skinner won the under-16 title at Bells Beach in Australia against other surfers from Hawaii, California and Australia, he’s the first Briton ever to win the competition.

When asked about his win he said: "It feels pretty surreal right now but there's no better feeling really.

"It's pretty cool to be the underdog from Cornwall so a lot of pressure is taken off your shoulders for sure but it feels good to be doing the country proud."

Lukas started surfing at the age of three with his father Ben Skinner, who has been European longboarding champion 11 times. Ben says you could tell at a young age Lukas was "hooked by it."

"We haven't looked back since, it's been an incredible journey so far and it's only just started. We're excited to see what the future holds for him."

Speaking of his win in the competition, Ben said: "We couldn't be prouder. He couldn't have done any better than to come back with that result.

"We were proud of him anyway, he's such a nice kid and that's the main thing and the main thing is he's enjoying himself. He's loved it."

When Lukas was 12 he suffered horrific injuries in a skateboarding accident leaving him unable to walk for four months, making his win even more impressive.

He now hopes to inspire a young surfers and says to them: "Don't let anything hold you back, keep pushing for your dreams."

He'll now being doing more trips and competitions and says the Olympics is a top priority.