THE ladies of Braintree Bowling Club were edged out on shots as they hosted a very strong team from West Mersea in the County Top Club competition.

West Mersea's ladies had won the North West Essex League last season, but Braintree had victories in the pairs for Rita Dodds and Roni Taylor and for Danielle Gibbons, Olive Hawkins and Gill Costin in the triples.

However, the visitors triumphed in the singles against Donna Law and the fours against Sandra Mayne, Freda Laidlaw, Linda Butcher and Jean Baxter and were ahead on overall shots so were the ones to move on to the second round.

Meanwhile, the first of the internal club competitions, the Tribble Triples saw 21 members taking part in this round robin competition.

The trophy was named after one of Braintree Bowling Club's most successful players, Harry Tribble, whose bowling prowess came in the 1920s, '30s and '50s.

This final game saw Les Crow, Steve Gibson and Barbara Taylor run out the eventual winners with a shot difference of 10-2 against Martin Law, Jan Kodz and Dennis Taylor.