Blaydon made it five wins in a row with an excellent 21-5 away victory at North East rivals Darlington Mowden Park - who ironically suffered their fifth defeat on the bounce.

Blaydon haven't lost a game since skipper David Guthrie returned from injury and never really looked like losing the derby clash after going into the interval just ahead.

Guthrie was in the thick of most things but it was Dan Clappison put Blaydon ahead with a fourth minute penalty goal. Four minutes later the home side took the lead with a try from Peter Phelan.

Before half-time Clappison added a second penalty goal to give the visitors a 6-5 interval advantage.

Early in the second half Blaydon went further ahead with hooker Matt Hall touching down and Clappison converted for a 13-5 lead which was extended with a third Clappison penalty goal before the hour mark.

They sealed the win with a second try as full back Robert Windle touched down for an unconverted try.

Elsewhere Darlington were trounced 42-12 at Bradford and Bingley.

A superb try in the opening minutes by The Bees started the alarm bells ringing when they offloaded the ball several times moving from inside their own half to score under the posts.

After this score things settled down and Darlington took the lead with two tries from Craig Lee in a five minute period just before the half hour mark.

Ben Snook broke down the wing and looked as though he could have got his pass away to Martin Howe who was supporting him but he was proven to have taken the right option when he took the ball into contact only five metres out. This was quickly recycled and a maul formed with Lee being driven over by the forwards.

Lee's second try came following a five metre line out. The position had been gained by one of Snook's excellent line kicks of the afternoon. The home side were expecting a catch and drive but as Richard Snowball was pulled to the ground he got the ball away and a missed pass to Lee found the centre in space to score under the posts for Kell to convert.

Bradford and Bingley scored a penalty before half-time but Darlington went in 10-12 up.

The second half started well for Darlington but they could only manage one successful drop goal from two attempts and a penalty. In the next 30 minutes the Bees moved up a gear and ran in five tries without response from the visitors.

This period of play must have been one of the worst for Darlington this season. The line out, relied upon so much for possession, couldn't hope to function when first Darlington lost Snowball and then Taylor to injury. They then suffered a further blow when first half try scorer Lee had to leave the pitch with a neck injury.

From this point on Darlington were a beaten side and watched the home side increase their score to 42-12 before the final whistle brought relief.

Tynedale snatched an unlikely victory with the last kick of the match against Dudley Kingswinford.

The North-East side emerged victorious 24-22 with Tynedale fullback Will Massey the hero, sending over a long-range drop goal after the referee signalled the last play of the match.

Middlesbrough's game against Preston Grasshoppers in Powergen North Division One was cancelled at short notice, annoying their Lancashire opponents who were on their way to the North-East when the decision was made.

According to Preston's website: "Hoppers were halfway across the Pennines when news came through of a late cancellation of the game. Why the home club needed to wait until 11am to decide that the frozen conditions were not likely to improve sufficiently to allow play is a mystery."

In Powergen North Two (East) Hartlepool Rovers beat Driffield 29-19. The teams shared seven tries, but it was the hosts who ran out victors by four to three.

Redcar beat Alnwick 13-6, while Horden were thrashed 62-3 by Westoe. The games between Huddersfield and West Hartlepool, Morpeth and Sandal and Stockton and Malton and Norton were postponed.

In Durham and Northumberland Division Two, Guisborough overcame Gosforth 16-11 in an error-strewn game.

North Shields also enjoyed a winning weekend, seeing off the challenge of Winlaton Vulcans, 20-3. The win ensured they maintained their second spot in the division.

In the same division, Wallsend were 34-8 winners over Richmondshire and Seaton Carew went down 33-24 to Gateshead. Houghton beat Yarm 16-12.