PEEBLESSHIRE athletes struck gold as Scottish Athletics kicked off its main summer programme of events on the weekend.

The East of Scotland Athletics Championships was staged in Grangemouth.

Scottish indoor champions Louis Whyte, 16, and 12-year-old Robert Horton were both in action.

Horton set the indoor track alight back in February when he shot to fourth on the all-time list for U13 hurdles.

On Saturday he set his stamp on the outdoor scene from the start by producing a scintillating 12.42 seconds for 75m hurdles to not only win gold but also smash the previous championship record of 12.66 set in 2019.

Turning his attention to long jump, he flew out to a new personal best of 4m 89, heading the Scottish rankings and taking gold by a clear 67cm.

Whyte is currently the one to beat in U17 long and triple jumping, having secured wins in both the Scottish National Championships and Scottish Schools Championships indoors.

Despite the pressure, he once again took gold in both events with 6m 44 and 12m 9 respectively.

Meanwhile, local sprinter Amy Chapman, 14, entered the 100m event for the first time in this championship, safely navigating her heat to reach the final where she finished eighth .

All three athletes train in the Peebles Athletics Group coached by Linda Nicholson.

Two Moorfoot middle distance runners also excelled at the weekend.

On Saturday, Kieran Fulton went into the East of Scotland U17 800m championships ranked second but finished the strongest down the home straight to take the gold with a new personal best of 1:58.20.

Fulton followed that up the next day with fourth in the 1500m in a PB of 4:04.12.

Also racing was Moorfoot and Edinburgh University athlete Charlotte Clare, making a welcome return to the track after an absence of a year in the Senior Women’s National Open 800m.

Ranked second going into the race, she ran a comfortable first lap and strong second part of the race to run out as the clear winner in 2:13.93.

Fulton and Clare are coached by Gregor Nicholson.