Two Sussex hockey players are celebrating medal success at the European Youth Championships in Hamburg.

Chris Bristow collected a silver medal for the under-16s and Steve Edmonds a bronze for the under-18s.

Bristow, the 15-year-old Worthing goalkeeper, needed the support of family and friends who stumped up nearly £1,000 to kit him out.

He said: "I couldn't have done it without the support I had from mum and dad. They have been fantastic over the years and the silver medal is for them. Hopefully I can now get some sponsorship to take the pressure off them."

His kit consists of helmet, throat guard, body armour, gloves, stick, padded shorts, groin guard, knee pads, leg guards, kickers, smock, kit bag and trainers.

Bristow believes his streamlined kit has helped improve his goalkeeping.

He said: "I've got one that is designed by goalkeepers like Ian Taylor who won an Olympic gold. Some kits can be heavy to wear and are difficult to sprint in but the new designs have tinkered with techniques and allow more flexibility."

The Worthing High pupil only let in two goals throughout the round-robin tournament. He helped England overcome Scotland 11-0, Belgium 5-1, Poland 5-1 and Wales 9-0.

He said: "The only game I didn't play in, against Germany, England lost 4-2 and Germany won the gold medal.

"I was a little edgy but I calmed down and was pleased I let in so few goals.

"At the beginning of last season I never dreamed I would be playing for England, but now I have done I want. That's why I'm in the trials for next season's under-16s squad with, hopefully, a head start thanks to my experience in Hamburg."

Most players chose outfield positions, but Bristow never considered anything else.

He said: "I just like dressing up in the equipment. It's fun and looks good."

Bristow was surprised at his swift elevation with England.

He said: "I only took up hockey two years ago but I wanted to make it to England level, although I didn't think I would this season because of my age. But I played well for the South East at Loughborough in a tournament and the England selectors were there."

Bristow, who has attended the English Hockey Academy at East Grinstead, added: "My long term aim is to get to the Olympics. The Europeans were a decent start."

Meanwhile, Edmonds revealed he almost ended up with a shattered knee at the round-robin tournament in Hamburg.

The 17-year-old from Portslade, a Brighton club striker said: "An undercut ball smashed into the side of my right knee, an inch to the right and it would have shattered my knee cap and put me out for ages.

"I decided to play through the pain and I'm glad I did because I went on to score. It was my first goal for my country. That was a special moment. Collecting the bronze medal was pretty special too."

The goal came in a 6-1 victory over Wales and he also netted in an 8-2 victory against Poland. Edmonds figured in a 7-1 triumph over Scotland and a 2-2 draw against silver medallists Belgium.

England would have taken the gold medal if they had defeated Germany in their last game, but were beaten 4-0.

Edmonds said: "It was a bit gutting. It seems Germany have beaten us quite a lot in big sporting occasions but we played quite well against them. I was a bit nervous in the first game against Belgium because it was my international debut. But then I got going against Wales and Poland and the victory over Scotland was a good one because they were really up for it.

"I learned so much about the big tournament atmosphere. When the national anthem was played It got quite emotional."