Ilkley teenager Matthew Chivers has broken two British rowing records.

The 17-year-old set a new best – a mark that has stood for eight years – for the 13-18 years' age group by clocking 1min 24sec for 500 metres.

The Bradford Grammar School pupil also destroyed the 1,000m British record by finishing in 3min 3 sec, 20 seconds faster than last year’s record.

Simon Darnbrough, rowing teacher at BGS, said of the superb achievements: "For both distances, Matthew beat the current records not only for his age group (13-18) but also for the age group above (19-29)."

Chivers said: “I’m really pleased with my times. I’m happy that the hard work I put in over the past few months has paid off.”