THE region's finest brass band is officially one of the best in Britain.

The Reg Vardy (Ever Ready) Band won third place in the national brass championships, held in the Royal Albert Hall.

It is the band's best ever result at the contest.

Band manager Les Palmer said: "It was a really good performance and our conductor Ray Farr's interpretation of the music obviously appealed to the adjudicators.

"We don't know how he does it but he always seems to get it right."

Mr Palmer also singled out soloists Bryan Tait, Tom Glendinning, Paul Robinson and Chris Bentham for praise.

The band, based in Stanley, was one of 20 competing in the finals, after winning a regional contest earlier in the year.

The national competition was won by the Black Dyke Band of Bradford, while the Huddersfield-based Yorkshire Building Society Band was second.

"Our third place means we qualify automatically for next year's national finals," said Mr Palmer. "We'll still go through the qualifying rounds as normal and will be going out to win, but it's good for the region as it means there'll be places for two other North-East bands, as well as us, in the 2005 finals."

The result is the highlight in a successful year for the band, which was founded in 1910 at Craghead Colliery, near Stanley.

In March, it secured a five-year sponsorship deal with Sunderland-based motor retailer Reg Vardy, that both secured its future and provided new uniforms for its 28 members.

Later in the year, the band performed overseas for the first time in 20 years when it was invited to play in France and took its best ever result in the All England Masters competition in June.

Sir Peter Vardy, chief executive of Reg Vardy, said: "This is an outstanding and richly deserved result for the band. Success at this level does not come easily and is testament to all the time and effort the members spend rehearsing and performing week in, week out. We believe this is the best performance from a North-East band since World War Two.

"It's been a great year for the band and I look forward to their continued success next year."