WOOLHOPE have collected their third county title of the season after victory in the mixed fours competition at the Larruperz Centre in Ross.

The Woolhope team of John Mills, Shirley and Becci Cox and Anthony Rogers defeated Gwyneth Jones, June Smith, Merion Attwood and Colin Smith of Lea in the final.

Also at the Larruperz Centre, the Bromyard Triples Challenge Cup was won by the Ross team of Ali and Ian Roe and Dave Watkins who defeated Colin Boyse, Alf Wye and Les Phillips of Larruperz in the final.

The Woolhope club suffered disappointment when they lost out in the final of the LEH Team of Ten Trophy for their third successive season.

The knockout tournament is contested annually across the season between clubs in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire and was founded in the days when the two counties formed a combined short mat bowls association.

Fittingly, the final turned out to be between the Herefordshire champions Woolhope, and the Gloucestershire league leaders, Gloster Knights.

The Knights established an eight-shot lead in the first two disciplines played, the singles and the pairs.

And although Woolhope halted the slide in the triples and the fours, the deficit proved too much to close and the Gloucestershire side ran out winners by six shots. The trophy was presented by Norman Allen, the competition’s founder and sponsor.