LEAH Moorby made it a hat-trick of titles as she won the British National Championships at the Manchester Velodrome for the third consecutive year.

Competing at under-59 kg, the International Taekwondo star used the Championships as an excellent warm up event for the forthcoming Junior European Championships to be held in Latvia next month.

For the first time in its history the National championships, which attract around 700 competitors, used the seeding system based on a number of previous competitions.

the Oakbank student was ranked number one following a remarkable unbeaten domestic run going back to September 2012.

As top seed she had a bye into the semi finals where she her Ultimate Taekwondo team-mate Amelia Pashley, a GB development squad member.

The first round was cagey as both girls know each others styles very well. Moorby opened the scoring with a thumping back kick to take a 3-0 lead into the second round. The second round and third rounds were equally as cautious with the Keighley black belt securing a 5-1 victory to see her reach her fourth national final.

Her opponent was Maddie Davies from Taekwondo Cymru who had a stopped her semi-final rival with a high-scoring victory so the Welsh girl must have fancied her chances of causing an upset.

However, the reigning British and Commonwealth champion had her sights set firmly on her third title and started the bout in dominant mood, scoring three well-executed body shots and a trademark head shot to take a 6-0 lead after the first round.

The second round saw the Welsh girl defend well as Leah kept moving forward, patiently looking to strike. Two further body shots extended the lead with the round ending at 8-1.

The final round saw the Keighley girl pile on the pressure with three punishing body shots extending the lead, a lightening quick head shot took the score to 14-2 and the contest was stopped with 30 seconds remaining on the clock by way of a

12-point gap to give Leah her third National title .

Leah will be travelling to Manchester at weekends to train with the Great Britain team ahead of the European Championships. Leah's coach Kathy Hook said: "Leah is capable of doing very well following her world bronze medal winning effort in March 2014 in Taiwan."