A YOUNG ballroom dancer has been forced to skip to a higher class after a search for a partner got off on the wrong foot.

Top juvenile Samantha Dubraime, of Longfield, Fulwood, combed local halls and classrooms for nearly a year, but couldn't find a consort of the same age to trip the light fantastic with.

But the dedicated 10-year-old refused to give up and has now teamed up with Karl Gill from Westhoughton, near Bolton - an experienced 13-year-old who competes at junior level.

She said: "I was really happy when I found Karl."

Samantha, who in six years of dancing has won over 800 trophies, will now have to compete at the higher level.

The pair hope to enter the junior championships in Russia early next year.

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