A pair of county bowlers were “overjoyed” after claiming victory in the British Isles Championships at the weekend.

West Barns’ Alister Kennedy and Billy Mellors beat Irish duo Martin McHugh and Barry Browne in the final, holding their nerve to come out 23-16 victors.

The duo made a perfect start, taking a 16-2 lead after eight ends, and the loss of a 5 at end 15 did not affect the county duo, as they remained comfortably 20-13 ahead.

The county pair clinched victory and, for Mellors, the win represents a third appearance at the British Isles finals, but a first victory after he lost the junior singles title in 1996 and the singles proper 10 years later.

The 40-year old from Gullane admits he was relieved to have clinched the title.

He told the Courier: “I’ve played in two Britsh finals before and not won so to finally get one was very important.

“Alister played brilliantly in the first couple of hours and, although we were underdogs, I fancied our chances because McHugh had been involved in the singles too.

“I felt that they were maybe over-played and we were fresher, but you never want to be too confident.” He was pleased to see the duo hold their nerve, despite the loss at end 15.

“We played really well, and they came back at us towards the end, so it was great to hold them off”, he added.

The Scottish Pairs champions had endured a nerve-wracking semi-final, but kept their cool to defeat Welsh champions Colin and Kevin James, despite falling behind late on.

After trailing, the county duo responded superbly, with successive doubles to 16 securing their place in the final, before they went on to secure the championship. as they edged their way into the final and on to secure the championship.

Mellors said: “We played a bit under-par in the semi-final, so it was a relief for us to get through.” However, they survived that challenge and went on to secure the title – a first for their club West Barns, which celebrated its centenary year in 2013.

“It was great for West Barns too, because the club had never won a British title,” he added.

The pair helped West Barns BC celebrate its 100th year by clinching the Scottish championship, and this year have gone one better.

There was further Scottish success at the event, held at Leamington Spa, as former East Lothian star Wayne Hogg skipped Tom Pettigrew and Ryan Crawford to a win over Wales in the final of the Triples.