LEADING veteran Sheila Allen was in record-breaking form as she completed a remarkable double hat-trick of victories in yesterday's Derwentside ten-mile road race.

The 43-year-old Houghton and Peterlee Harrier, who first won the event in 1992, made it six wins on the trot and celebrated by slicing 32 seconds off her four-year-old record on a hilly course reputed to be the toughest in Britain.

But the double World Veterans Championships gold medallist was surprised to find such excellent form after a family birthday party the night before.

"I'm astonished to have broken the record because I had a late night and had a few glasses of wine. It wasn't the best preparation for a tough road race," she said.

"The conditions were good and I kept my sights on a runner in front who always finishes in good times.

"I was surprised to keep up with him. I thought I was either doing well or he was having a stinker!"

But it turned out that Allen was in top form, finishing in 62 mins 15 secs, over nine minutes ahead of the second woman, Saltwell's Tora Munnelly.

Allen might have won the race eight times in a row, but an Achilles heel injury forced her to miss out in 1994 after two consecutive victories.

She said: "I'm really over the moon to have won the trophy again - it's a lovely silver rose bowl and I'll be delighted to take it back to the engravers."

North West Durham man Malcolm Price came out of retirement to win the North-East championship, but his time of 54 mins 15 secs was nearly four minutes down on the course record he set in 1991.

Price, 38, a home support officer, who left Sunderland Harriers last year to seek better competition with Salford Harriers, lost interest after winning his new club's 10K championship in April and decided to hang up his racing shoes.

But he decided to run at Derwentside after receiving a call from one of the race organisers, and despite being on a low training mileage proceeded to beat his former Sunderland clubmate Tim Field by 46 seconds after a ding-dong tussle in the first half of the event.

Field paid the penalty for allowing Price and defending champion Neville Carr to break clear in the first mile, and expended vital energy making up lost ground, though he briefly hit the front after the notoriously gruelling climb from Causey Arch.

"I looked over my shoulder at six miles when I'd opened up a lead and I decided to put my foot down," said the former Great Britain international. "I'm not properly race fit and I'm pleased to have won."

Field, a ten-mile specialist, rued: "I took it too easy at the start and I let Malcolm get too far into the lead."

But he had the consolation of leading Sunderland to victory in the team race, helped by fourth-placed David Grover and Paul Roper, who was first over-40 home in fifth place