HASLINGDEN Primary School clinched their third National Mini Handball Festival title in one of the most exciting finals in years.

Playing in front of a vocal home crowd, Haslingden beat Wirral Handball Club 9-7 at Haslingden Sport Centre to make it a hat-trick of wins in eight years.

Victory for Haslingden established the school as one of the best mini handball teams in the country.

Coached once again by Sue Bateson, the Rossendale school reached the final after victory against Red Lane Primary School from Bolton in the semi finals.

And there was more good news for Haslingden Primary School when Tom Sipocz was named in the All Star team for his performances throughout the tournament.

The winning Haslingden A team also included Sam Smallridge, Alexis Nickandrou, Matthew Hoyle, Hannah Johnson and Ben Hilton.

Adam Whittle of Ramsbottom school St Andrews also made the All Star team alongside Amy McDermott (Wirral), Ben Marsh (Red Lane) and Rosie Smith (Thorners).

The tournament, supported by Rossendale Borough Council, attracted teams from across Lancashire, Bristol, Dorchester and the Wirral.

Haslingden County Primary School had two teams in the competition as did St Andrew's whose 'A' team finished in fourth place just ahead of its B team.

St Andrews 'A' team was James Seddon, Jamie Armiger, Adam Whittle, Ben Coop, Holly Owen Ryan Schofield. The school's 'B' team included Sam Artingstall, Chloe Warner, Joe Bolden, Andrew Moore and Alice Greenhalgh.

Haslingden 'B' finished in seventh place with a team that included Elliot Johnstone, Imogen Edwards, Nick Astin, Nicholas Telford, Alex Marcroft and Tim Hulme.

Tournament organiser, JJ Rowland, described this year's event as a fantastic success and one of the best yet.

"This is a special event both for myself and handball in England because the tournament is dedicated to the memory of my father, Jeff Rowland, who passed away shortly before the 2000 tournament. I am sure he would have been very proud to see his team win again."

The 2003 event also saw the introduction of a junior under 14s event, organised by the newly formed Haslingden Handball Club.

The event took place at Fearns Sports Centre where Wirral Handball Club beat Haslingden in a tense penalty shoot out.