Chester-le-Street athlete Stewy Bell celebrated an England call-up by joining a select band of athletes to win the Durham Pine North-East Harrier League senior men's handicap race, despite giving away five minutes start.

The runaway win underlined Bell's recovery from an injury which has plagued him for 18 months.

Bell, 34, who severely aggravated a back problem in the 2000 Flora London Marathon, has carefully plotted his recovery programme.

His selection for England follows his fine performance in the British Gas Great North Cross Country meeting, where he finished third Briton in 13th place.

Bell said: "I'm delighted with my selection and it couldn't have come at a better time.

"I was at a very low point when I couldn't race, but I knew I would eventually get back to my best and I'm now enjoying athletics again."

Bell, who will race in a cross country international in Seville later this month, clocked the fastest time in the Harrier League for the third consecutive meeting.

But it was the first time he had headed the 200-strong field in the 10K handicap race, with the slow-pack runners receiving five minutes start and the medium-pack athletes setting off 2 minutes ahead of the fast-pack men.

But Bell scorched round the five-lap frost-bound course and hit the front midway through the final lap, beating medium-pack runner Richard Kemp, of Sunderland, by a 80 metres.

Kemp had the consolation of leading the defending senior men's team champions to a badly-needed victory after a stuttering start to the competition.

Sunderland fielded a much stronger team for the fourth fixture and, with their six counters in the first 13, took maximum points to lift themselves within two points of leaders Blaydon, who just pipped them in the two previous fixtures. Now, with two meetings left, Sunderland look poised to retain the trophy.

The women's race was won by former North-East Cross Country champion Dianne Heneghan, who beat Chester-le-Street's Kathryn Waugh by over a minute, with Claire Smallwood (Jarrow and Hebburn) third.