LOCAL non-League sides enjoyed something of a rollercoaster ride this season, with Chippenham challenging at the summit of their league and Swindon Supermarine swooping to safety on the very last day.

Back in August, Chippenham, began their first spell in the Dr Martens Premier Division with a 3-1win over a Chelmsford City side bossed by former England full-back Paul Parker.

An injury-time defeat by rivals Bath in front of 2,000 at Hardenhuish followed, the result paling into insignificance when a perimeter wall collapsed and injured Bath's Jamie Gosling.

Supermarine picked up a point in their opener against Stourport, but that was as good as it got for John Murphy's men as a series of defeats followed.

Former Ciren boss Ray Baverstock took charge at Devizes and led them to an opening day win over Welton in the Screwfix Premier.

Wootton Bassett found themselves in the top four of the early Hellenic standings, while Highworth dumped Fairford out of the FA Cup after a replay.

SEPTEMBER

Marine were back in turmoil, as boss Murphy quit on the back of a string of defeats and an early FA Cup exit at minnows Chard. Former Swindon Town man Tom Jones took over as player-boss, with ex-County Ground star Alan McDonald as his assistant.

Cult hero Charlie Griffin returned to Chippenham, in a permanent deal from Woking after impressing while on loan.

The Bluebirds continued to impress in the upper echelons of the Dr Martens Premier, but came unstuck in the FA Cup, losing 4-1 to Weymouth.

Ciren made a disappointing start to life under Brian Hughes, and soon found themselves in the bottom third of the Western Division.

Perennial Screwfix strugglers Calne solved their goal scoring problems by snapping up former Wroughton man Glen Armstrong. The transfer marked an immediate reversal of fortunes.

OCTOBER

The Hellenic League representative side beat their Screwfix counterparts 4-2 in a friendly, with Highworth's Mark Belcher among the scorers.

Meanwhile, Belcher's club extended their unbeaten run to nine, suggesting they were capable of a Premier Division title challenge, while Bassett's promising start went awry after an 8-0 hammering at Bishops Cleeve.

Highworth, Fairford and Calne all suffered early FA Vase exits, and Don Rogers quit as Pewsey boss after a poor start in the Hellenic's top flight.

NOVEMBER

Rogers made a dramatic U-turn and was reinstated as Pewsey boss.

Marine sank to new depths with a 7-1 defeat at Solihull followed by a record 9-0 thrashing at Sutton Coldfield. Boss Tom Jones duly caught the next flight to Korea to consider a coaching role with Asian giants Pusian Icons.

Devizes boss Ray Baverstock was named new Marine supremo, leaving the Kennet club managerless once again until Pete Tripp stepped in.

Chippenham were dumped out of the FA Trophy by Aylesbury, but Calne Town, inspired by Armstrong's goals, collected a string of victories to rocket up the Screwfix First Division table.

DECEMBER

Baverstock brought in a collection of former Cirencester players, but Marine continued to struggle, until a 1-0 win at Bedworth relieved the pressure.

Chippenham, unbeaten in the league since September, were emerging as title dark horses after a 3-0 home win over leaders Tamworth.

JANUARY

The mid-season cold snap decimated the opening fixtures of the calendar year, but Chippenham remained in contention after the thaw with a fine win at former Conference side Dover.

Ciren found their best form of the season and embarked on a winning run, including a 2-0 win over eventual Western Division champions Merthyr.

The run comes to a halt in the FA Trophy as they are hammered 5-1 at classy Canvey Island.

Marine enjoyed a brief foray off the bottom after a 3-3 draw with Evesham, but returned to the basement when Merthyr hit them for four without reply.

Struggling Pewsey Vale issued a statement to confirm that manager Rogers was on his way out following budget cuts and this time there was no u-turn from the Swindon Town legend.

FEBRUARY

Chippenham's five-month unbeaten run came to an end at Havant, prompting tears from Tommy Saunders.

The Bluebirds' chief had suffered abuse from fans furious at Steve Tweddle's sale to Forest Green and he duly threatened to quit before retracting his statement 24 hours later.

Marine picked up just one point from five games a cracking 3-3 draw with neighbours Cirencester preventing a completely barren month.

Devizes belied their woeful league form to make the FA Vase quarter-finals after a superb 3-1 win at Clitheroe, while Melksham boss Robbie Lardner promised to resign following budget cuts. An upturn in results, though, forced the player-boss to change his mind.

MARCH

Marine looked dead and buried after a 3-0 derby defeat at home to Cirencester left them nine points adrift of safety but it would be the last time Baverstock's side tasted defeat in the league.

Chippenham's season was effectively ended after a wretched spell saw them eliminated from the Premier Shield and Dr Martens Cup at the semi-final stage. Back-to-back league defeats also ended any chance of landing the Premier Division title.

Highworth's Hellenic title hopes also evaporated after John Fisher's men dropped points against some of the division's lesser forces to leave them trailing North Leigh.

Pete Tripp ended his short stay as Devizes boss, after the Vase dream died against Maldon and the cash-strapped club slipped into the Screwfix Premier relegation zone.

APRIL/MAY

Chippenham finished the season with a whimper, in fifth, Cirencester were 14th in the Western Division, leaving Supermarine to provide the end of season entertainment and they didn't disappoint.

Loan signings Dave Toomey, Barrie Matthews and Simon Futcher added extra quality and the South Marston strugglers suddenly became unbeatable.

Five straight wins took their survival fight to the final day of the campaign and a superb 3-1 victory over high-flying Bromsgrove secured safety at Rocester's expense. Defeat to Salisbury followed in the Premier Shield final two days later, but that became insignificant.

After a struggle in Screwfix Division One, Corsham announced that Chippenham assistant Nobby Bush will be their manager for next season.

Devizes still to appoint a boss finished rock bottom of the Premier, but survived after League officials confirmed there would be no relegation.

Purton pinched third in Division One West of the Hellenic after winning six games in seven days, while Fairford were crowned Gloucestershire Senior Cup champions after Tuesday night's 2-0 final victory over Yate.