FOUR golfers are on their way to Portugal next week, after winning a regional tournament.

The quartet, from the Consett area in County Durham, are representing the Miners Arms, Blackhill, in the Golfing Pub of the Year tournament. They will compete against teams representing southern England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in a two-day event in Vilamoura.

The trip will be extra special for team member Bryan Davison, who will mark his 41st birthday during the trip.

"It is a great birthday present," he said.

"If someone had told me seven weeks ago, at the start of the qualifiers, that I was striking my first ball towards Portugal, I would have laughed at them. It is unbelievable."

The team, consisting of Mr Davison, Mark Bonser, Andrew Hutton and Gary Amos, won their two qualifying rounds at Linden Hall, in Northumberland and Brancepeth, in County Durham, to win a place in the regional finals at Fulford, near York. There they beat opposition from Manchester, Leeds and the North-East to win the right to represent the North of England in the finals, next Friday.