GREAT Britain international Neil Wilkinson successfully defended his North Eastern Cross Country Championships senior men's title, then sympathised with his wife, Sarah, for not being able to join in the action at Meadowfield.

The Wilkinsons, who moved to the area from Manchester two years ago, had hoped to become the first husband-and-wife pairing to win titles in the 99-year history of the region's major winter fixture. But a calf injury ruled out Sarah, the former Commonwealth Games 5,000m finalist.

"I'm delighted to have retained my title, but Sarah's very disappointed not to have made her debut in the championships," said Neil, a 35-year-old physiotherapist.

"Her calf injury has been on and off for months and she won't be racing until the New Year. It's hard for her because she's been really looking forward to getting back."

Wilkinson's victory was clear cut, beating Morpeth clubmate Mark Brown by 38 seconds after bursting clear of the leading group at the halfway mark. Sunderland Harrier Brian Rushworth, at 41 the current British Veterans' Cross Country champion, was third, a further seven seconds behind.

The leading pair were the first counters in the Morpeth squad, which carried off the handsome team trophy for the eighth year in a row after a mid-race scare.

Morpeth seemed to be coasting to victory after building up a 29- point lead on rivals Sunderland after two laps when their fourth counter, Andrew Toward, who had been suffering from a heavy cold, was forced to drop out.

Sunderland suddenly became a serious threat. But 20-year-old Andrew Swinburne came to the rescue by threading his way through the field, making up several places to finish 28th and assure Morpeth of an 11-point victory.

Whether Sarah Wilkinson - a member of Chester-le-Street's all-conquering team which won the 2003 National Cross Country title - would have made a winning debut was left to conjecture.

But the senior women's race saw a battle royal between Darlington's Bernadette Taylor and Claire Simpson, of Jarrow and Hebburn.

The Tynesider held the upper hand for three quarters of the 8K race and regained the lead after a brief challenge took Taylor to the front on the last lap.

But the reigning North Yorkshire and South Durham Harrier League champion made a decisive move on a downhill section, bursting away from Simpson to open up a 30 metres lead before going on to with by six seconds.

Taylor, a 29-year-old trainee nurse, admitted: "When Claire opened up a lead I had more or less settled for second.

"But on the final lap I sensed she was slowing down a little and that gave me the encouragement I needed. I managed to get to the front a second time but I didn't think I would make it all the way. I'm overwhelmed by what's happened."

Three-times champion Marie Stansmore, running again after two years out of athletics, took third place, 15 seconds behind Simpson, and, with veteran Alison Raw, helped Darlington retain the team title.

The most emphatic victory in the younger age groups was achieved by Shildon's fast-improving Kate Avery, who had 29 seconds to spare in the under-13 girls' race.

Middlesbrough and Cleveland's 19-year-old international race walker, Johanna Jackson, won the junior women's title after finishing runner-up last year.

* Durham City Harrier Rosie Smith finished an excellent 12th and was second counter in the Great Britain junior women's team which finished second to Romania in yesterday's European Cross Country Championships in Germany.

Smith, who clocked 12 mins 1 sec in the 3.640m race, won by Turkey's Binnas Uslu in 11.13, was two places and six seconds behind Great Britain's first finisher, Claire Holme.

Elswick Harrier Ryan McLeod finished 24th and was fourth counter in the Great Britain junior men's team, which took the bronze medals behind Russia and Ireland. Ryan Stephenson (North Shields Poly) was 91st.

* Redcar-based Stephen Hepples, who left Loftus AC for Newham and Essex Beagles, won yesterday's Scarborough Christmas Cracker 10K for the fifth year in succession in 30 mins 50 secs.