WESTLECOT won the local derby featuring Swindon's two indoor bowls clubs, but just missed out on winning the East Region of the Wessex League by a single point.

They defeated Thamesdown 89-75 for a 14 points to two victory. Westlecot took the honours on three of the four rinks but needed to win on all four to top the East Region table.

Three of the four matches saw close finishes with only one game producing a big winning margin.

At Westlecot the home rink skipped by Mel Biggs raced into a 10-0 lead over Gary Morphet's quartet after five ends and led 14-5 after 10.

But the Thamesdown rink fought back well, cutting the lead to 16-11 after 15, 19-15 after 18, and only went down in the end 23-21.

On the next green the match was much closer. Neil Hope's quartet led Alan Willis 6-2 after five ends and 10-6 after 10 but the rinks were level at 12-12 after 15.

Willis then moved into a 15-12 lead after 17 ends but a run of four singles saw Hope's rink edge a one-shot success.

At the Oasis, Dave Woodbridge's quartet led the Westlecot rink, skipped by Ian Jefferies, 8-4 after five ends. Jefferies edged ahead to lead 16-13 after 15 and powered away for a 29-15 win.

Dave Jones' home rink at the Oasis produced the lone success for Thamesdown. They led Martin Hope 4-3 after five ends but trailed 13-6 after 10 and 18-12 after 15. But they came storming back to draw level at 18-18 after 18 ends and go on to a 24-21 win.

With Carterton winning the top-of-the-table clash with Oxford & District 75-68, Westlecot moved into second spot but finished one point adrift of group winners Carterton.

RESULTS (Thamesdown names first)

At the Oasis: Ken Roe, Ernie Stevens, Maurice Stow and Dave Woodbridge (skip) lost to Barry Sictorness, Mike Hall, Dave Matthews and Ian Jefferies (skip) 15-29. Brian Stokes, Harry Langley, Arthur Baker and Dave Jones (skip) beat Bob Scammell, Ian Thomas, Tony Rivers and Martin Hope (skip) 24-21.

At Westlecot: Chris Purbrick, Mike Rae, Roy Carter and Gary Morphet (skip) lost to John Thomas, Matthew Webster, Dave Vowles and Mel Biggs (skip) 21-23. Dave Royle, Cec Exton, Malcolm Curtis and Alan Willis (skip) lost to Shari Akhavan, Shane Stevenson, Hedley Bowen and Neil Hope (skip) 15-16.

Final table (seven games): 1 Carterton 86pts, 2 Westlecot 85, 3 Oxford & District 77, 4 West Berks (Newbury) 64, 5 Thamesdown 56, 6 Rivermead (Reading) 36, 7 Oxford C&C 28, 8 Fairford 16.

Last 16 play-offs (Sunday, March 9): MidGlos v Westlecot; Thornbury v Moonfleet; Plymouth v Dorchester; Clarrie Dunbar v Bristol; Five Rivers v North Wilts; Clevedon v Oxford & District; Bromsgrove v Donyatt; Carterton v Weston St Andrews. Quarter-finals March 16; Semi-finals March 23; Final April 6.