BELL Green tightened their grip on top spot in Welington Ex-Services Skittles League’s Gerald Thorne Championship, pulling five points clear of their nearest rivals with a 22-pin away win over Oaks.

In the Chris Bullock Championship, 100 per centers Ex-Servicemen stretched their lead at the top to nine points after main rivals Mowers and Scuppas lost.

Scores - Gerald Thorne Championship, Oaks 379, Bell Green 401: Oaks’ skipper Ashley Bright knocked a fine 59 while Paul Rowlandson hit a 59 of his own as the leaders got over the line in style.

Report Centre A 351, Relyon 367: Relyon moved up to joint second in the table after a 16-pin win away to Report Centre A at the White Horse Inn. Derek Parsons top scored with 54 for RCA but they fell a little short of what they had hoped for as youngster Callum Hayes (53) led his side to a deserved win.

Reservists 407, Holywell Lake 406: Only one pin separated these rivals in a high-scoring game at the Institute. Kevin Sedgebeer top scored with 60 for Reservists while Steve Dowson hit 71 for the Lakers - the highest away score this winter.

OBA 370, Club Rockers 325: Rockers slumped to their tenth defeat in the league this winter on the upstairs alley of the Vic. Jason Vincent hit a great 60 for OBA, while Dave Perry (48) was tops for the losers.

Hot Shots 330, Queens Legs 348: Queens Legs took the Conservative Club’s upstairs/downstairs’ bragging rights with a good 18-pin victory. Edd Chivers scored 50 for Hot Shots while Clin Francis was tops for the Legs with 56.

Fireguard A 359, Rebels 320: Riley Taylor knocked a great 61 for Fireguard A in a comfortable win over Rebels at the Football Club, while Paul Taylor and John Sellick scored 45 for the away side.

Chris Bullock Championship - Ex-Servicemen 376, All Stars 325: Ex-Servicemen made it ten wins from ten league games as they beat All Stars by 51 pins with Lee Baker top scoring for the winners with 60, while Tony Winchester knocked 47 for the losers.

Mowers 353, King Pins 369: Mowers suffered their fourth loss of the season as they went down by 16 pins in their Football Club derby. Darren Winter was top scorer for Mowers with 49 but the home side posted a below par score. Paul Winter and new signing John Norman both hit fine 56s for the Pins.

Odds & Ends 435, Scuppas 396: Bottom side Odds & Ends produced one of the performances of the season so far by beating title chasing Scuppas by 39 pins in a high-scoring match at the Vic. Rob Stanyard hit a fantastic 63 for the winners while John Barker was leading scorer for Scuppas with a hand of 57.

United Services 409, WRFC 374: United Services made it two wins on the bounce as they saw off the rugby boys by 35 pins at the White Horse. Paul Fancy’s superb 67 led the way for the home side, who posted a 400-pin plus score for the second time at home this winter. Dave Harper hit 52 for WRFC.

Outsiders 368, Foresters 350: Outsiders got back to winning ways with a good home win over Foresters. Ron Smith, in good form this season, scored 56 while Colin Shepherd was Foresters’ top skittler with a hand of 48.