A YOUNG Scots surfer is preparing to take part in the world surfing championships in Japan.

Ben Larg, 12, from Tiree, in the Inner Hebrides, has been immersed in waves since he was two years old is already Scotland’s under -18 surfing champion.

Now he is preparing for his biggest challenge at the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Surfing Championships in Kyushu, Japan, which start on Saturday. It is the largest junior surfing contest and many of the top professional surfers have launched their careers with ISA Junior gold medals.

This year also offers the potential for the first surfers to represent their nations in the Olympic Games when the sport makes its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Ben and his family have teamed up with Bafta-award winning film company Urbancroft Films who are following his story and helping them to coordinate their trip.

The film company will make an independent film charting the journey to Japan and celebrate the people they meet and the new cultural experience they will encounter in Japan.

It will showcase the Japanese experience through screenings at film festivals and via a broadcast on television.

Their last film – Marty Goes to Hollywood, about an actor trying to get to a Hollywood premiere – was screened on BBC Scotland, toured cinemas and was bought by Amazon Prime and an inflight airline catalogue.