The Great Yarmouth Festival of Bowls started on Sunday with the Mayor and Mayoress bowling the first woods.The first titles of the 63rd festival were handed out on Tuesday - with a very familiar name among the recipients.

The Great Yarmouth Festival of Bowls started on Sunday with the Mayor and Mayoress bowling the first woods.

The first titles of the 63rd festival were handed out on Tuesday - with a very familiar name among the recipients.

Chris Wadlow, the champion in 1999 and 2002, claimed the Bell's Whisky-sponsored ladies singles for the third time in ten years.

The St Lawrence BC player defeated Acle's Marion Himpleman, herself a previous Yarmouth winner in the ladies pairs, 21-13 in a final which kept a large seafront crowd enthralled.

In the semi-finals, Wadlow had made a slow start against Stalham Bowls Club's Sally White.

But after a sedate opening in which the two players showed great respect for the other's capabilities, Wadlow pulled away from 8-5 to sweep through 21-10.

By contrast, Himpleman was quick out of the blocks in the other semi-final against Pam Rolph of Sheringham, swiftly taking a commanding lead 14-2. She didn't let up, either, continuing in the same vien to win 21-12.

For the first time in the competition's history, the semi-finalists and finalists were distinguished by the wearing of special blue and red shirts - sponsored by the Great Yarmouth Mercury and Eastern Daily Press.

And there's no sign of either colour being luckier than the other as Wadlow won in red while the men's fours title went to the team sporting blue.

The fours final, sponsored by Hall's Group Limited, brought together the Cawston four of Robert Dodd, Nigel Coverdale, David Page and skip Mark Riches against Bob Nurse, Ken Throwhawk, Paul Shackloth and skip Jason Roope, representing a mixture of clubs.

Roope's men led 10-9 after seven ends, but by the end of the 14th the match had swung dramatically away from the mixed team in favour of the Cawston men, who were now 20-12 in front.

Once in command they didn't let up and went on to win 27-20.

Roope and company must have fancied their chances after putting out the defending champions - Frank Ray, Norman Gant, Alan Curtis and skip Martin Rounce of the Heartsease Bowls Club - in the semi-finals.

After seven ends Roope's four led 8-3. As in the final, things began to turn at that point, with the scores level at 14-all after 14 ends. But Heartsease picked up only three more shots as Roope soon gained the upper hand to win 22-17.

The other semi-final was much more one-sided.

Another mixed rink made up of Mark Flatman, Matthew Flatman, Ian Catchpole and skip Stefan Adcock were well in the hunt at seven ends, with the Cawston bowlers holding a 6-4 lead.

But the Cawston men powered on from that point with consistent drawing to lead 18-6 after 14 ends, eventually winning 23-6.