Paul Humphreys, of Ryedale Indoor Bowls Club, has completed an amazing double at the age of just 15, after qualifying for the National Under-25 Singles Indoor Bowling Championship next month.

He beat international player Sam Winter, of Hull Indoor Bowls Club, to qualify and in doing so he added the Yorkshire Indoor title to the Under-25 outdoor county crown he won when he was 13.

Winter is a regular England player, ranked 41st in the country in the EIBA rankings, and a previous winner of the area final.

But he was no match for Humphreys.

Both finalists, playing on the neutral rink of York Indoor Bowling Club, started well.

Humphreys established an early lead and though his opponent fought back to within one point at 15-16, Humphreys went on to win the match 21-16.

He now goes on to represent Yorkshire at the national finals in Nottingham on February 9 and 10.

His first opponent will be from Buckinghamshire.

A determined Humphreys said: "I didn't even expect to get through the first round, so I'm really pleased to get through the final.

"I'm not sure what to expect (in Nottingham) but my opponent (Sam Winter) said he thought I had a good chance. I'm going down there to win it."

Updated: 11:28 Thursday, January 03, 2002