BIRKENHEAD senior aircraftsman David Barney was a member of the British Combined Services basketball team at the NATO Championship held at Mons in Belgium.

David, aged 24, competed against teams from 10 countries in the annual event at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.

Said David: "I started playing when I was 10, my school PE teacher got me started and I found it's a great sport, very fast, I love it."

David, who attended Birkenhead Sixth Form College before joining the RAF in 1999, is serving as an aerospace systems operator with the Royal Air Force.

This year's championship was won by Latvia, a new NATO