TABLE TENNIS: CREWE will stage the North West's biggest table tennis competition for players with special needs later this month.

More than 70 players from all over Britain will meet at Coppenhall Leisure Centre for the competition on April 24 and 25, with at least 20 competitors being members of the national squad.

The competition will be used as a qualifying competition for some of the players who are representing Great Britain in the Global Games in France and Sweden later this year.

South Cheshire Special Needs Table Tennis Club, who train at Coppenhall every week, is organising the event.

The club's head coach Dennis Beech is also team manager of the national squad.

He said: 'This is a very important competition for those representing Great Britain and the competition also encourages new and junior players.'

The competition is being sponsored by Air Products, Crewe and Nantwich Council, Crewe and Nantwich Sports Council and the North West Disability Table Tennis Group.

Anybody requiring details of the competition or attending table tennis trials for the national squad can contact Dennis Beech on 01270 560341.

Champions Bentley Blades completed their Crewe and District League Division One season with a 7-3 win over Post Office D.

Phil Smith and Kevin Foster returned maximums for Blades.

Runners-up Wordcraft finished 14 points adrift despite a 10-0 defeat of Post C by Granville Chatterley, John Dawson and Barry Hughes. Post C fared little better against Post B, losing 8-2 as John Brooks and Alan Shaw delivered trebles.

Post B then went down 7-3 to Post A with Shaw's two sets not enough to counter two from Bernard Thorley and three from Neil Williams, and they could slip to fifth if Post D beat Post C in the league's only outstanding match.

John Ibbs finished top of the averages with 96.67% having lost just once in 30 sets.

Division Two winners Post F failed to complete the season unbeaten as they went down 6-4 to runners-up Post E. Shaun Devaney's treble was the deciding factor, with Mel Green winning two for Post E and Dave Prince two for Post F.

Post G finished third after their team of Matthew Chantry, Phil Roy and Lee Rickard defeated Brine Leas A 10-0 before recording a 7-3 success against and Brine B, who finished with the wooden spoon.