DAVE Warburton, the karate king of Mid Cheshire, has received another jewel in his crown.

He has been made an Eighth Dan and is one of only a handful in the country to receive the award, after chalking up 40 years in the sport.

Dave, of Eskdale Close, Winsford, said: “ Karate has been my life.”

He started learning at the age of 18 and by the time he was 21 he had won his first black belt and soon started teaching the martial art.

The following year he opened a club in Winsford by which time his career as a coach and a fighter was taking off.

He was an England Shukokai – a style of karate – international for 14 years and national champion.

He became a European referee, was chief referee of the SKU for 30 years, chief ref of England in all styles, an executive member of the black belt grading panel and won the Vale Royal Sports Council’s Ken Riddick Trophy for his contribution to sport.

And, of course, he has coached thousands of youngsters, who include brothers Barry and Paul Williams and Andrea Scott, who all went on to become internationals.

He coached his two daughters to black belt standard, but wife Diane decided to stop at green. Dave turned professional in 1979.

But is he thinking of a Ninth Dan? In shukokai karate a Dan is awarded for appropriate number of years served, that is a Second Dan after two years, a Third after a further three and so on.

“I’ll be 67 then and it all depends how my body holds up. But I have no intention of retiring yet,” he said.