Jacky Gardner from Redcar captured the over-45 women's title in the national championships in Manchester last weekend to improve on the two second places she obtained in the over-40s the two previous years.

The Durham and Cleveland player, who was favourite for the honours, won the final against Kent's Karen Hume 6-9, 9-7, 10-8, 9-3 in 50 minutes.

The English international is a Redcar club player and recipient of the Smith trophy, the Durham and Cleveland SRA award for performances in county squash.

She has contested the nationals for only five years, finding it difficult to escape the demands of employment at Middlesbrough College.

Her Durham and Cleveland county colleague Faith Sinclair, from Durham, suffered the agony of losing her over-50 title when forced to retire with breathing difficulties in the fifth set of a gruelling encounter with Kent's Rebecca Czuczman.

She had taken the first two sets, but a fighting comeback by her opponent saw her level the match and Sinclair was trailing 8-7 in the deciding set when she had to retire. The Durham veteran had beaten Margaret Chambers (Cambs) 6-9, 10-9, 9-2, 9-0 in the semi-final.

County stalwart Dave Lumsdon was defending champion in the men's over-50 event, but lost to Yorkshire's David Manning in the final by 9-3, 6-9, 9-4, 9-5.

Manning also knocked out Nunthorpe's Leon Kirton, making his nationals debut, by 9-6, 9-3, 5-9, 10-9 in round two. Kirton had beaten Norfolk's Brian Hawkes in three games in round one, while Lumsdon had removed Cumbria's Ronnie Bell in the semis and a Wiltshire player in the last eight.

Yawar Abbas, once of Yarm and frequent county champion, made it to the quarter-finals in the over-35s, where he lost to Nigel Willis of Lancashire in four sets.

Neil Harrison of Nunthorpe and Bryan Beeson of Sunderland Racquets were both on the receiving end of heavy defeats by the outstanding Phil Whitlock in the over-50 event.

Colin Shields, from Darlington, made his debut in the over-45s, but was a first-round loser to a Middlesex competitor.