A RYDAL lad made history by becoming the first Briton to conquer Europe's climbing scene.

Aidan Roberts, 16, won gold at the European Youth Bouldering Championships in France, beating a field of internationally renowned competitors.

It was his first time at the tournament, held in L'Argentière-la-Bessée, which saw 27 climbers from as far afield as Russia tackle eight climbing problems in the first qualifying round, followed by four problems in the final.

Aidan put his nerves to one side to qualify for the final in third place.

"I was quite nervous actually because I didn't know the standard," said Aidan.

"It's a bit intimidating because the top climbers in Europe are there.

"At the last couple of events I thought I would be the weakest person there and then I realised I wasn't so I was a bit more confident going into this."

After qualifying for the final, Aidan would have been forgiven for thinking that his work was done as he had already surpassed expectation, but what happened next could not have been predicted.

"When I qualified for the final it felt like a huge achievement and I was really happy but I expected to go down a place in the final," said Aidan.

"I got the first two problems in the first go so I was feeling confident and I could see the scoreboard so I saw that I'd moved into second place.

"I got the third problem at the third attempt and dropped to fourth place but I got the last problem at the first attempt and the other competitors couldn't get up it."

The Keswick School pupil, who got eight A*s and three As at GCSE, then faced a nervous wait for the final competitor to tackle the course and could see that his rival needed to scale the final problem within two attempts - but he fell twice meaning Aidan had secured his country's first ever gold medal at the Championships.

His victory meant he earned the right to stand on top of the medal podium as God Save The Queen was played to the delighted crowds.

Speaking of his achievement, Aidan said: "I can't quite believe it. It feels like fantasy."

Aidan will now compete for Great Britain at the World Championships in Italy on Saturday, August 29.

"There's more pressure because people will expect me to do well," Aidan said.

"But I'll be more relaxed because this season already feels like a success."