Dancers from the Three Towns have come back from the world's biggest street dance stage with a lot to cheer about.

Teams and individuals from Saltcoats-based Dance Mafia, as well as another local dancer, travelled down to Blackpool's Winter Gardens for the UDO World Street Dance Championships.

This was the first time in three years that they were able to attend the competition, due to Covid restrictions over the past few years.

The children heading down to the contest, in fact, qualified way back in 2019 for 2020's event, so it's been a long time coming!

The championships included teams from right across the globe, with 37 different countries in attendance.

There were trophies and places on offer in both team, solo and duo events across numerous different age categories.

Dance Mafia have competed in the championships in the past, however, teams must get through a preliminary round to qualify for final and compete for places. Last time round, the club did not progress past the prelim.

This time around was completely different though, and not only did they qualify, but they proved they are up there with the best the world has to offer.

Dance Mafia's under 12 team 'Maniacs' came back having placed fourth in the whole world. While their under eight team 'Lil Gs' secured a podium place, finishing third!

The good results didn't stop with just the teams though, with many individuals proving they are among the world's elite.

With as many as 200 kids from across the globe competing in solo events, Dance Mafia's troops brought back some astounding results.

In the under six category, Eva Arnold secured fourth place, both in the under 10 category, Zara Arnold came in seventh place while Jaymi Hunter palced fourth, while in the under 12 age category, Keean Curran place fifth.

On top of this, Stanley Primary pupil Aria McCart (who was there representing a different troop) came second for the under eight category - a World Championship runner-up.

The good results didn't stop there though, with duos results still to come, and the Three Towns representatives excelled themselves!

In the over 18 category, KC Robinson and Calvin Murphy finished in third, while Lucy Milligan and Zara Arnlold became World Championship runners-up as they placed second for under 10s.

While Aria McCart and Trey Wallace, who competed in the under eight category, can now call themselves champions of the world, as they emerged victorious.

The fun and dancing didn't stop with the kids either, with Dance Mafia's amazing parent team 'Mental Mafia Maws and Dads' also competing - and placing eighth.

Amyleigh Cavanagh spoke to the Herald after the championships, explaining how impressive these results were.

She said: "All the kids went with no expectations but a fire in their bellyies and these results just completely blew us away.

"Even qualifying for such a prestigious competition is a massive achievement, and to be bringing home titles to our wee town is just something we could have only have dreamed of!

"These kids work so hard and watching them grow and experience these amazing opportunities is just amazing."