HELEN McDermaid has won the Bowls England Champion of Champions trophy – at the age of 70.

The Watchet club stalwart is the first bowler at the club to win a national title in its 103 year history.

And she’s also the first Somerset bowler to lift the Champion of Champions title.

Her husband Mike, a fellow life member of the club, said: “It’s taken a long time but Helen’s absolutely delighted about it. She was walking on air when she won it.”

McDermaid, who works as a seamstress at Williton Hospital, has dominated the championships at the Watchet club since she joined in 1971.

She has also represented Somerset and is a member of the current John’s Trophy squad.

But it’s only in the last couple of years that she has made an impact in the Champion of Champions event at Leamington Spa.

Last year she was knocked out in the semi-finals but she made up for that in no uncertain terms by beating junior international Jean Stephens of Cambridgeshire 21-8 in last Thursday’s final.

In the morning’s semi-finals McDermaid defeated Helen Mason (Derbyshire) 21-19.

That followed victories over the Middlesex champion (21-19) in the quarter-finals and the Surrey champion (21-17) in the last 16.

McDermaid also had to win no less than seven games in Somerset to earn a place at Leamington, clinching the county title with a 21-5 victory over 21-year-old junior international Stef Branfield (Clevedon).