A GROUP of Wee County bowlers made history at the weekend as they became British Isles champions.

Alloa East End Ladies bowling club defeated Wales in the final to claim the title, sparking jubilation among those who travelled to support.

The team – made up of skip Eilidh Weir and her sister Rebekah, Pamela Kenny and Gillian Kirk – also fought back from 7-1 down to beat England 15-11 in the semi-final.

Eilidh said: "It was brilliant, it was one of the first times our club had been down there and everybody was there to support us.

“It was really good.”

The group negotiated a tough fixture against the Auld Enemy in the semi-final before facing Wales for the crown.

Eilidh added: “We just couldn’t get on the scoreboard [at the start of the semi-final] but it was great to come back and win that against a really strong England team.

"We got off to a really good start in the final compared to the semi-final.

“The Wales team we were playing were really strong; they managed to claw themselves back to within a couple of shots of us, but we managed to make it down the home stretch at the very end.”

Alloa were representing Scotland after winning the Scottish Championship in 2019. However, Covid disrupted the schedule and the original championships, which were originally meant to take place in England, were moved for the Commonwealth Games.

Eilidh continued: "A couple of venue changes and a couple of years waiting due to Covid but it was definitely worth the wait.

“All of our supporters were there for us."

For Eilidh, playing alongside her sister was a special moment and she can see a bright future ahead of her.

She said: “It’s amazing. I’ve played for Scotland before but this was Rebekah’s first time representing Scotland so it was nice to see her there and to be with her was really, really good.

“I don’t think it will be her last final.”

Eilidh is in no doubt this is the biggest achievement for the club and thanked everyone who made it possible.

She continued: "Within the 14 years I’ve been at the club I’ve never seen anyone do something on that scale so it was nice to be a part of it.

“It did take a lot of fundraising because it is a small club. We did a lot of afternoon teas and things like that so we could have a bus down with us to support us.

“Without that it wouldn’t have been possible for us to go down there.”

There's no rest for the team as later this month they're on the road again to make it two in a row.

Eilidh said: "In a couple of weeks' time we’re going back down to the national championships to try and win it again and go for a double so, hopefully, we can do that again.”