Former Southampton Diving Academy star Chris Mears has won gold and silver at the British Gas Diving Championships.

Mears, who is now based in Leeds, claimed victory alongside best friend Jack Laugher in the three-metre springboard – their first British title as a synchro pair.

Mears and Laugher were the dominant pairing from the outset and maintained the gold medal position across the six rounds of competition in Plymouth.

Their highest scoring dive was the front four-and-a-half somersaults tucked which scored them 82.08 points.

They finished with 410.28 points.

Mears revealed it was the perfect start to their season.

The 22-year-old said: “We’ve got a big year coming up so this meet was very much about blowing the cobwebs off.

“We tried a new technique coming into this meet and there was some stuff in there that was good and some stuff that wasn’t so good.”

Double Commonwealth champion Laugher claimed his second title at the championships with victory in the three-metre springboard.

The City of Leeds diver’s total of 462.65 on the second day in Plymouth saw him edge out clubmate Mears, with City of Sheffield's Jack Haslam some way back in third.