LANCASTER University's American football squad, the Lancaster Bombers, has received international and British collegiate recognition.

St Martin's College student Stewart Flaherty, Ian Gavin , a student at Manchester University and Lancaster student Chris Mayne have been selected for the Ireland senior squad, who are currently preparing for a tournament in Nebraska, USA, where they will compete against Spain, Finland, USA, Slovakia and New Zealand.

The Bombers also had four players voted onto the All-College squad, which is comprised of the best players in the British Collegiate league.

Martin Kaps and Mike Levitt, as well as Flaherty and Gavin were voted onto the squad by opposition coaches.

The Bombers have a successful history, which includes the 1999 season when the team lost the national semi-finals and ranked third in Britain, a season in which coach Don Fairhurst won coach of the year.

The Bombers have a history of producing talented players, and old boys include Stuart Muir and Paul Mather, both of whom are playing National Senior Division One with Merseyside and Lancashire respectively.

More than 100 Americans have played for the Bombers, including Brian Shubin, who is currently playing professional Arena football in the USA and Lou Basanese, who played for the University of Florida.

Lancaster' s season will start again in September and all full-time students of all playing experiences are welcome to join the team.

Also, for any interested females, the Bombettes, Lancaster's cheerleading squad, are recruiting.

Training will be held throughout the summer and if sufficient interest is present, the Bombers are looking to start up junior kitted and flag (a non-contact version of the sport, played by both boys and girls) teams.

Anyone interested should contact coach Don Fairhurst on 07855774847 or alternatively by e-mail on Dfairh9524@aol.com.

Further information on the clubs can be found at www.lancs.ac.uk/socs/bombers.