A family from Whitchurch will be taking to the arena in a new web series called Bugglebots.

Chris Sowry and his 13-year-old daughter Felicity are taking part in the robot fighting competition, which was started by a group from Bristol after classic BBC rogramme Robot Wars was axed.

Teams taking part in the competition have come from across the UK and as far away as USA and Germany, and among them are Chris and Felicity.

Chris has lived in Whitchurch for more than 20 years, but it wasn't until recently the father and daughter team started building these robotic fighting machines.

"I built my first robot late 2016, this introduced us to the world of being a roboteer, taking part in tournaments and since then everything has just snowballed," said Chris.

'Luna-Tic', Team Luna's more famous robot was ranked in the top 16 in the world and has taken part in over 40 fights all across the UK.

"The Robots started off as my hobby, but soon Felicity and my other children showed an interest. To the point she now drives her own robot called Claws 2 that is taking part in this new show, Bugglebots," added chris.

"Like boxing, fighting robots have many different weight categories, Robot Wars showcased the massive 100kg heavyweight robots, whereas Bugglebots will show the much smaller Beetleweights, weighing up to 1.5kg.

The series was filmed back in September, with the first show aired on YouTube on Tuesday. The series will feature six episodes, across five heats and one grand final.

"Despite their small handheld size, these robots are just as deadly as their bigger counter parts," said Chris.