A young gymnast told a badly broken bone would mean he would never straighten his arm again has defied the odds to return to the sport.

Ethan Coombes, nine, from Carshalton, came sixth in a gymnastics competition last Saturday almost a year after a doctor told him it was likely his arm would never fully straighten out again.

Ethan fractured his right arm just below the elbow during a judo lesson in June last year when a fellow pupil landed on it.

Ethan said: “It really, really hurt. And when the doctor told me about the fracture I was really scared.”

His mother, Maria Coombes, said Ethan was devastated when he was told that he had severe nerve damage, but his determination in physiotherapy sessions helped his quick recovery.

She said: “He worked really hard to get his fitness up.

“On the days he went to physio he was in a lot of pain, but he stuck at it because he wanted to get better.”

Ethan’s fractured arm also meant that he could not write, eat or play many games, which he found very frustrating.

But only a few months after he returned to his training at Sutton Gymnastics Academy, in Rosehill, Ethan entered the London Regional Gymnastics Competition at the Redbridge Centre in Essex performing in the floor and vault competition and picking up sixth position overall.

Mrs Coombes said: “We were screaming so loudly when he finished his routine and were so proud that he was able to achieve so much after he fractured his arm.

“I was so pleased for him.”

Ethan is now determined to do even better now he has recovered and is looking to get a higher ranking in his next competition.

He said: “I’m going to carry on and do my best to come first in my next competition.”