Leaders Chester-le-Street were surprisingly held to a draw by North Tyneside College who had previously gained just three points with one victory in 11 attempts.

The Cestrians scored through Carl Jones and Mark Rome but College hit back and strikes by Aaron Hunter and Wyn Fremiln earned them a share of the points.

West Denton had the better of New Hartley winning 2-0 when Mark Horsfall and Stephen Dodds hit the target, while Redheugh, in second position, suffered a 4-3 defeat when they entertained Walker Central.

Scott McDonald bagged a brace of goals and others on the mark for Walker Central were Paul Mills and Kevin Chilvers. Stephen Small (2) and Chris Wilson responded for Redheugh who are six points adrift of Chester-le-Street with three games in hand.

Both Walker Central and West Denton are eight points off the Cestrians. Walker have played four fewer matches than Chester-le-Street, but West Denton have fulfilled one more fixture than the leaders.

P W D Pts

Chester-le-Street 14 10 3 33

Redheugh 11 9 0 27

Walker Central 10 8 1 25

West Denton 15 8 1 25

New Hartley 10 5 0 15

*Whitley Bay 9 6 0 12

Consett 12 2 0 6

Prudhoe 11 0 0 0

**North Tyneside College 12 1 1 -14