THE new series of Robot Wars will feature a father-and-son team from Hereford with a presidential-themed robot.

The long-running TV series returns to BBC2 later this month, hosted by Dara O'Briain, and pits remote-controlled fighting machines against each other.

The robots have a variety of weapons such as powerful flippers, hammers and axes.

The new series will feature Team Balistix, a team from Hereford consisting of James Davies, 23, and his dad, Allan, along with their robot, Donald Thump.

James and Allan were selected to enter the latest competition and they went to Glasgow for five days of filming.

Allan said: “James built the machine from scratch at the same time as taking his final medical examinations and working in Birmingham.

"He did brilliantly to get the robot ready for the event as we were only asked to be in the competition a couple of weeks before filming started.”

Robots enter the arena to fight each other two or three at a time and the aim is to destroy, immobilise or throw the opponent out of the arena.

James said: “The Donald Thump theme seemed to catch people’s imagination. The robot has a 14 kilogram blade which spins at 5,000rpm.

"If it hits an opponent at full speed it delivers a 'thump' big enough to lift 100 kilograms 10 feet into the air.”

"The whole event was terrific fun and a great experience,” said Allan. “Building robots involves a wide range of skills: welding, fabrication, electronics and pneumatics.”