A RETIRED school teacher from Pendle has lifted a national croquet championship cup in only his fifth competitive season.

Abdul Ahmad, of Church Street, Barrowford, won the All England Croquet Handicap Champion title at the national championships held at Nelson and Colne College, Nelson, this the weekend.

Abdul is a member of the Croquet in Pendle Club which meets at the college.

"It was all level with five minutes to go and after three hours it was down to just a point," said Abdul, who used to teach at Edge End High School, Nelson.

"It was a very tense game because the person I was playing was on a similar level to me. I had to play through 12 hours of qualifying to get to the final."

Abdul, a qualified croquet coach and referee, started playing the game after a shoulder injury led him to give up golf.

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