There was a change in the top places of the First Division when Wheatley Hill A only dropped one point to the visiting Cockton Hill, who had Andrew Aisbitt as their only winner.

The Hill and the rest of the league were delighted to see Dave Walker back in action after a long illness with a comprehensive win in the first frame. Alan Hall, Dean Bryden and Ronnie Peacock joined him as home winners. This result lifted Wheatley Hill into equal second place with Old Shildon and put them one point ahead of Cockton Hill, who slipped to fourth place.

Spennymoor A extended their lead at the top to two points when they only dropped one point on their visit to Shotton Palms. Eddie Rhodes, Karl Welsh, Paul Atkinson and Paul Biddle all won for the Moors with Jimmy Evans junior scoring the Palms lone point.

Old Shildon moved up to share second place with Wheatley Hill A after they only dropped one point to the visiting Brandon, who slipped to their third defeat of the season. Michael Pratt with a 35 break put Old Shildon ahead but Graeme Jackson with a 31 break levelled. Charlie Blake, Steven Bennett with a 33 break and Jossie Aldworth with a 38 break completed a good home victory.

Sherburn Village needed a come back when they entertained Willington before edging through in the decider. Alan Greener put the Village ahead but then Stan Bennett and Jeremy Martin won for the visitors. John Bower equalised and Michael Crisp with a 30 break beat Arthur Goldsborough in the decider.

Meadowfield were never headed when they visited Newton Aycliffe but they had to wait until the final frame before clinching victory. Malcolm Hughes put the visitors ahead but Mark Howe equalised. Norman Smith restored the visitors' lead only to see John Briddick level the match. In the decider Meadowfield's John Jackson beat Bill Barrigan.

Fishburn A edged through by the odd point at home to Witton Gilbert when Wayne Oliver took the deciding frame. John Rooney junior gave Witton the lead but John Griffin with a 30 break levelled. John Carter then put Fishburn ahead but Ian Renwick took the fourth frame to force the decider.

Newhouse maintained their one point lead at the top of the Second Division after they only dropped one point to the visiting Belmont. The first frame produced what was rated one of the best ever frames seen at Newhouse when John Maddox beat the visiting Steven Armstrong. Jimmy Hassen increased the home lead on the black when Micky Short fouled. Billy McGrath then took the only point for Belmont before Harry Dinsdale and Keith Allison completed a good home victory.

Wingate looked to be on their way to a whitewash success at Spennymoor B when they took the first four frames through Joe Hennessey, Steve Allen, Geoff Howe and John Bourne. The home side saved the blank when Wayne Parry took the final point for the Moors.

David Jackson put Bearpark ahead at Langley Park but then the home side went ahead with wins from Paul Nord and Ray Coates with a 42 break. Shaun Easter equalised and Bearpark went to victory and a share of third place, three points behind Wingate, when Alan Smith beat Stephen Coates in the decider.

Crowtrees A were taken to the decider before edging through to victory against Wheatley Hill B. Sonny Hann and Neil Phillips put the home side ahead but Tony Ellison and Jock Frost equalised. In the decider, Crowtrees Phil Whitfield beat Dave Carter to share third place with Bearpark but with an extra match played.

Ferryhill beat the visiting Stanley Central in the decider when Glyn Toas put in a 35 break to beat Norman Rimmington. Harry Grimes had given the Central the lead but then Steve Wray and Bernie Jones scored for the home side. Mick Busby levelled the match to set up the decider.

Durham City moved up to share the top spot in the Third Division with Sacriston after they beat the visiting Leeholme B in all frames. The City winners were Michael Pratt, Brian Dunn, Gary Ward, Barry Stoddart and Eric Wright.

Sacriston looked set to record a similar home win over Hunwick B when Dale Evans, Steve Bradley, Willy Nixon and Alan Richardson took the first four frames. However Hunwick's unbeaten, Barry Fleming maintained his excellent run by taking the final frame.

Crook Belle Vue moved four points behind the joint leaders with a match in hand when they only dropped one point to the visiting Fishburn B, who had Alan Wilson as their only winner. The home winners were Eric Lockerbie, Ken Rider, John Warriner and Gordon Sample.

New Durham scored a comprehensive victory at Tow Law, where only the ever-improving Alan Spence scored for the home side. The visiting winners were Tony Robinson, Phil Garr, Keith Scullion and Gordon Bowes. Leeholme A came close to recording their first win of the season but just failed by the odd point to the visiting Crowtrees B. Lawrence Jones and Anthony Forster won for the home side but Terry Gibson, Steve Routledge and Willy Edwards clinched only the second ever victory in the league for the newcomers.

Results: Newton Aycliffe 2 Meadowfield 3; Crowtrees A 3 Wheatley Hill B 2; Tow Law 1 New Durham 4; Sherburn Village 3 Willington 2; Langley Park 2 Bearpark 3; Wheatley Hill A 4 Cockton Hill 1; Old Shildon 4 Brandon 1; Ferryhill 3 Stanley Central 2; Crook Belle Vue 4 Fishburn B 1; Shotton Palms 1 Spennymoor A 4; Spennymoor B 1 Wingate 4; Sacriston 4 Hunwick B 1; Newhouse 4 Belmont 1; Durham City 5 Leeholme B 0; Leeholme A 2 Crowtrees B 3.

Worthington CIU Team Knockout

Ithe first round Leeholme B entertained Newhouse and received 89 points start. Steve Mountain took the first frame for Newhouse by 46 points to close the gap but John Taylor played at his best to take the next frame for Leeholme by 11 points.

Kevin Allison won the third frame for the visitors by 15 points to cut the deficit to 39 points. Brian Harrison then gave Leeholme a definite chance when he took the fourth frame by 14 points to give then a 53 points lead going into the final frame. Keith Mann pulled out all the stops for Newhouse and got on top of Lee Taylor, but the home man fought hard and scored enough points to give Leeholme B a 31 points victory.

In the second round, to be played on December 17, Leeholme B will play at Willington.

Crook League

Crook Olde Horse Shoe emphasised their dominance at the top of the First Division when they visited the second placed, Crook Travellers Rest B and only dropped two points. The home side's lone singles point came from Lee Taylor with Jim Ainsley and Aaron Cowan adding the doubles. The Shoe had singles points from Darren Tinkler, David Stephenson, Stephen Liddle, Dave Walker and Brian Johnson.

The third and fourth teams in the Second Division met at Howden Australian with Crook Surtees the visitors. Both teams needed a big win to threaten the leading pair but the match went to a deciding doubles. The Surtees had singles wins from Chris Bainbridge, John Uren and Alan Tomlinson whilst Ian Williams, Michael Lee and Peter Johnson won for the home side. The Aussie edged to victory when John Hardy and Stephen Burke beat Fred Hunt and Howard Trotter in the deciding doubles.

Results: Crook Spitfire Club 2 Crook Travellers Rest A 5 Crook Travellers Rest B 2 Crook Olde Horse Shoe 5; Crook Queen's Head A 3 Crook Mill House 4; Crook Belle Vue 4 Crook Coach and Horses A 3; Crook Golden Fleece B 3 Crook Jelly's Bar A 4; Howden Australian 4 Crook Surtees 3; Crook Coach and Horses B 4 Crook Queen's Head B 3; Crook Jelly's Bar B 2 Crook Golden Fleece A 5; Crook White Swan 3 Crook Royal Sun 4; Crook King's Head 3 Willington Market 4.