Five young Pembrokeshire swimmers made a splash on the national stage recently.

Carys Thomas, Hannah Saunders, Kelsey Williams, Isabelle Davies and Talia Merriman competed against the top swimmers in the country at the recent ASA British Age Group Championships in Sheffield.

The five swimmers, who train regularly with their local clubs and with Pembrokeshire's County Performance Squad, qualified for a total of 22 events, including three relay team events.

Three swimmers reached eight finals including one relay team final - the first time a Pembrokeshire girls relay team has reached a final - and there were nine finishes within the top ten.

Overall, the Pembrokeshire team, which included Jordan Harding for relay events, was the 25th Best Girls Team in the country.

"It was a remarkable achievement to have five swimmers compete at such a prestigious event," said Clr. Rob Lewis, cabinet member for sport and leisure.

"Pembrokeshire swimming is going from strength to strength with these five girls major talents to watch for in the future."

This year's ASA National Age Group Championships took place at Ponds Forge Pool, Sheffield, with Pembrokeshire County Swimming the largest Welsh Club represented - both in terms of number of qualifying events and number of swimmers.

Carys Thomas swam in 10 events. Her best results were fouth in the 400m IM (individual medley) and 3k Open Water events, fifth in the 200m IM, 800m freestyle and 8th in the 200m freestyle. She was the first Welsh swimmer home in all, but the open water swims.

Hannah Saunders's best result was 13th in the 400m IM, where she was second Welsh swimmer home behind Carys, while Kelsey Williams reached both the 100m and 200m breaststroke finals and came sixth and ninth overall.

Isabelle Davies took 15th place in the 200m butterfly and produced exceptional swims in the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200m freestyle relays that helped the team to maintain their standing in the rankings of 24th and 17th respectively.

Talia Merriman, at her first ASA Nationals, came 20th in her 100m butterfly and reached the final of her 100m backstroke event.

Pembrokeshire Leisure swimming development coach Paul Dowey praised the dedication of all the swimmers who took part and their club coaches.

"All their hard work and effort paid off in the pool," he said.