Cumbria would host its Champion of Champions bowls tournament over the weekend, with Whitehaven Bowling Club earning the top spot for just the third time in its history. 

The experienced Jackie Walker would take home the trophy after defeating David Taylor 21-14 in a tightly-contested final at Fitz Park in Keswick. 

Jackie had qualified for the tournament, which saw 12 entries from across Cumbria, by winning his own club's competition and he was a worthy winner at the weekend. 

Vic Emmerson, the men's county secretary at Cumbria Bowling Association, was there to witness a thrilling final between two bowls players with vastly different levels of experience.

He said: "It was an exciting final. David Taylor has not been playing for a long time and by his own admission, he was chuffed to just be in the competition. He didn’t expect to get to the final. He got there and was happy to not be annihilated.

"He put up a very good performance and was holding Jackie for about two-thirds of the game and as often happens in the game of bowls, one guy just gets on top and runs away with it. Sometimes the score doesn’t paint the true picture. It was 21-14, but they were level at 12-12, so it wasn’t one-sided."

Jackie becomes Whitehaven's first winner since 2016, when Ben Sherwen claimed the title, with Brian Foster the first to earn top spot in 2003, and he will hold the trophy until next year's event.