Queenborough Karate Club has been forced to close its doors for the last time.

Chief instructor John Bower believes the reason is partly because “kids now seem more interested in playing on their laptop computers.”

Bower opened the North Road club in 1997 and one time had 70 students on his books.

But he said: “Sadly, because of work commitments and an ever-dwindling membership, I have had to make the decision to close the club.

“It seems that karate, which once was a very popular martial art, is no longer so and that youngsters are now more interested in playing on their laptops.”

The club’s final event was a black belt only grading, which was split in to three sections: Kihon (basic moves), Kumite (partner work) and Kate (sequence of set moves).

“All six students put 100 per cent effort into the grading and as a result all of them passed,” said Bower.

The six were Luke Barber, Chad Bishop, George Homewood, Joseph Walsaw, Jason Russell and Lauren Thomson.

Read the full story in this week’s Sheerness Times Guardian newspaper.