The 28-year-old flyweight from Leeds, who took silver at the World Championships in Barbados last year, won the flyweight final with a superb 15-8 victory against France's Sarah Ourahmoune to become the first female British boxer ever to win gold at a major event.

It was Adam's first European title after she claimed silver in the competition back in 2007 and her victory led a superb GB Boxing performance in Rotterdam that saw the six-strong squad claimed four medals.

England's Lisa Whiteside took silver in the featherweight category as she suffered a narrow 15-14 loss to Ukraine's Natalia Biriuk but it was a superb performance given that Whiteside's appearance in the final was only her fourth bout representing England and that she was the only one of the six fighters selected by GB Boxing for the competition that is not currently part of the women's Olympic squad.

Earlier in the tournament, Natasha Jonas just lost out in her light-welterweight semi-final with a 12-11 loss to Turkey's Gulsum Tatar while middleweight Savannah Marshall was beaten 15-7 by Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands.

But as they reached the semi-final, the pair both picked up bronze medals in addition to the gold and silver won by Adams and Whiteside respectively.

"I'm really happy," said Adams following victory.

"GB Boxing is doing really well right now.

"In 2007, we only had one medal [the silver won by Adams] and this time we have got four so you see the training we are doing is really working is really helping and putting us at the top of the medal tables."

Adams victory is particularly important looking ahead to next year as her flyweight category (48-51kg) is one of the three Olympic weights categories when women's boxing makes its debut at London 2012.

The other two other Olympic weight categories are lightweight (57-60kg) and middleweight (69-75kg) and all eyes will now be focused on the 2012 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships next May in Qinhuangdao, China, as they will act as a qualifier for London.

Elsewhere in Championships, light flyweight Lynsey Holdaway, who is representing Wales rather than GB at the event, lost out to Russia's Svetlana Gnevanova in the final to claim a superb silver medal.

Earlier in the event Lauren Price, who is also competing with the Wales vest, lost her welterweight semi-final 17-7 to the experienced Ukrainian Mariia Badulina but still took bronze to claim Wales' first ever women's boxing medal at a major senior tournament.

Meanwhile Ireland's lightweight star Katie Taylor predictably took gold with a comfortable 10-5 victory against Russia's Sofya Ochigava to claim her fifth straight European title.

The triple world champion will now be huge favourite to take gold at the Olympics next year as the 25-year-old from County Wicklow has won every major prize in the sport and is the reigning AIBA World Female Boxer of the Year.

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