Holly Bleasdale eclipsed her own British pole vault record during an indoor meeting in France on Saturday.

Bleasdale cleared a height of 4.71m to beat her previous record - set in July at a meeting in Germany - by just one centimetre.

"I knew I had capabilities of getting 4.61 but getting 4.71 in competition was such a surprise," said the 20-year-old afterwards.

Despite failing to register a height during the World Championships this year, Bleasdale looked impressive during the smaller competition.

She explained: "Training has been going amazing and I was really confident and just wanted to have fun seeing as it was just a small competition off a short approach (12 strides) and I did not taper for it."

Bleasdale will now be looking to carry on her good form in 2012 in the lead-up to the London Olympics.