BERRY Hill's Sam Hughes has fished his way into the England youth team.

Sam, 17, came through a tough qualifier against 30 of the country's top anglers at the Gold Valley Lakes in Surrey.

He will now take his place in the England World Angling Championship squad of five to represent his country in July.

The squad will travel to Slovenia to compete against the best anglers in the world on the River Sava, a deep, fast-flowing venue that makes the Wye look like a small stream.

It's full of fish, but the 150 metre wide venue has depths of 35 feet so they will take some finding.

A string of high profile performances have put Sam firmly on the angling map. Last year he won the Sky Sports Fish O'Mania competition, netting £2,000. He recently finished joint first in the Preston Intermediate Festival at White Acres in Cornwall, where he fought back from a difficult draw on day one to take his place on the podium.