A group of knights are putting their enemies to the sword as they bid to conquer the world.

The team of armoured knights are part of a fullcontact medieval fighting organisation called Battle Heritage, which was founded in Sussex.

Mark Taylor, from Hailsham, is British team captain and Nikolaj Malnac, pictured, from Worthing, is chairman of Battle Heritage, the national governing body for the sport.

The team won a recent European competition in Germany, beating teams from Poland, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and France to take the title.

They are now gearing up to take on the world’s best at the IMCF World Championships, being held at Castillo Belmonte in Spain from May 1 to 4.

Mr Malnac said: “It is very physical. You need to work to improve your fitness and power to be able to fight.

“It does hurt sometimes and there are some injuries if your armour does not fit.”

They fight in teams of five to 16 and the object is to knock the opposing team to the floor.

The fighters wear fully authentic armour weighing up to 30kg and wield authentic weapons with rounded edges.

Rules include no stabbing and no bending a joint against its natural direction.

An opponent is out of the fight and considered “dead” once they have three points of contact with the ground. Once down they remain on the floor until the end of the bout.