Simon Bonham proved he is in a class of his own in Southend and District tennis when he claimed the men's singles title in straight sets.

Bonham defeated Simon Chesher 6-1 6-2 at Southend Lawn before travelling with the Essex team to County Week in Nottingham.

Kirsten Warner took the ladies' singles honours by beating Simon's wife Tracey Chesher 6-2 3-6 6-3.

Carey Willson and Andy Bacon won the men's doubles with a 5-7 7-6 6-1 defeat of John Handelaar and Jeremy Harvey.

Karen Rivers and Lindsey Watt beat Tracey Chesher and Fiona Stone to the ladies' doubles title with a 2-6 7-6 6-3 win.

Karen tasted success again when she partnered Dave Lamb to the mixed doubles title by defeating Steve and Hazel Wynn 6-7 6-4 6-4.

Sue Blackshaw was in four finals and won three, while Karen's father Bryan won two of the three finals he contested.

Hazel Wynn was in three finals and won one, and there was success for Rayleigh's Steve Higgins who won two of his three finals.

There were 18 events in all and the prizes were presented by Southend and District LTA president Frank Pike who thanked Lawn for the good job they had done of hosting the event.

"The attendance was very good," said an LTA spokesman. "There were lots of spectators who were entertained by some high standard tennis throughout the day.

"Thanks must also go to competition secretary Steve Wynn for all his hard work organising the event."

l Entries for Westcliff Hardcourts' junior tournament are still being taken.

Ex-Rover boy Johnny Tremaine, from Westcliff, has signed up and you can join him by contacting Dawn Handelaar on 01245 320521.

Westcliff Lawn is also hosting a junior event for players aged under 18 between August 21 and 26. The closing date for entries is August 4.

Contact Jackie Middleton on 01702 582404 for more information.

Men's champ - Simon Bonham

Fourth time winners Lawn make it a double

Westcliff Lawn, skippered by David Coates, have won the premier title for the second time after a stunning performance in division one.

Their winning margin of seven points was beyond the chasing pack in David's first year of captaincy.

The bottom position and relegation goes to Leigh, who had massive disruption with their membership this year. They will now drop down willingly to re-group in division two.

After being promoted last term, Wickford have repeated their relentless climb by winning division two title by eight points.

The new-look Southend Lawn team showed good potential but just could not hold their division two status.

They will now be a force to be reckoned with in division three.

That saw a real nailbiter when Thorpe Bay II locked horns with Kent Elms II. The seasiders came out on top by just one point with captain Jim Love a very relieved man.

Westcliff Hard III and Invicta II finished in joint bottom place and unlucky Invicta head down a division on a game count back.

In men's division four, Rochford are now back to winning ways. Under new leader Chris Nelson the squad have taken a men's league title for the first time since the 1980s.

After being rock bottom and nearly out of the league a few year's ago, it is good to see the club come back to life.

Invicta III drop down after struggling to have squads available throughout the term.

Jerry Bell's Thorpe Bay IV have taken the division five honour by an amazing 11 shot margin.

Unfortunately, like last year, they are league locked by their upper team and cannot make the climb.

Crowstone take the wooden spoon for the summer of 2000.

Kent Elms top again

Kent Elms have captured the spoils in Leigh and Westcliff's Ladies division one yet again.

The club, captained by Brenda Lincoln, made sure of retaining the title for the fourth consecutive time by a winning margin of four points.

Leigh have lost some of their ladies from a once very strong squad and drop into the lower division to regroup.

Division two saw Raleigh capturing the first of their two titles to take the squad, captained by Pat Smith, into first division action next year.

Thorpe Bay II find themselves in the unusual position of relegation next term.

Rayleigh II scooped the division three spoils by taking the title by an incredible 12 points.

The League, celebrating its 50th anniversary, saw Kent Elms capture the division one title for the fifth year running.

This gives the squad, captained by Mandy Smith, the honour of being the first club to enjoy a tenth premier division title since the league was formed in 1950.

They took the top spot by four clear points over nearest rivals Westcliff Hard. Once again, Leigh suffered the drop from division one tennis.

In The League division two, Kent Elms have copied their achievement of 1998 by giving the club another double. Mary Moxom's squad took the division by nine points over Westcliff Lawn. But Lawn will be promoted as Elms are locked by the first team squad.

Seven times previous division one champions Invicta tumble into the third division and will now be looking towards rebuilding.

Westcliff Lawn II take the third division title by a single point and now make the leap to the upper division. Invicta II suffered the lowest points tally of the season, mainly due to the unavailability of their players.

Wickford are on the way up from division four. Hockley are the victims of the drop here. Wickford also claimed the division five title. Rochford face the drop.

l Club captains and their troops will be gathering at The Leagues 50th Anniversary Presentation Dinner and Dance on Saturday, October 28.

Guest of honour at the club will be David Lloyd, who will also be presenting the awards ceremony.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.