TYNESIDER Jared Deacon has scrapped plans to race over the hurdles as he reverts back to his favoured 400m in a bid to qualify for the European Championships at the AAA Championships in Birmingham this weekend.

The 26-year-old Border Harrier, who has already been selected to represent England in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester later this month, believes he can establish himself as one of the UK's leading one-lap hurdlers after winning the North-East championship, just failing to set a new record.

But Deacon, who was a member of the Great Britain 4 x 400m relay team in the Sydney Olympics, feels that he has a better chance of being selected for Munich. He said: "I fully expected to run the hurdles at Birmingham, but after looking at the opposition I have decided that I have a more realistic chance of making the Europeans in the flat 400m."

Deacon is confident that he can win one of the discretionary places by fending off other rivals and finishing second behind UK number one Daniel Caines at the Alexander Stadium.

Teessider Chris Tomlinson, who has burst his way into top-class athletics after breaking Lynn Davies' long-standing British long-jump record, will be trying to celebrate a six-figure sponsorship deal with sportswear giant Asics by winning his first AAA senior championship. Also in action at Birmingham - in the 5,000m - will be brothers Ian and Mark Hudspith, of Morpeth Harriers, who will be competing over 10,000m and in the marathon in the Commonwealth Games.

North Shields Polytechnic's Shirley Webb, chosen to throw the hammer for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games, has the qualifying distance for the Europeans but needs to improve on her sixth-placed UK ranking.

* Chester-le-Street AC's Stewy Bell made it five wins out of six with two road race victories this week.

The 34-year-old Great Britain international, firmly back on the road to full fitness after aggravating a back injury in the 2000 Flora London Marathon, won the inaugural Barclays Sunshine Run and the Kilburn 7m road race.

Former Chester-le-Street runner Michael Openshaw, who brought Bell's three-race winning sequence to an end at the Tynedale 10K, also won the New Marske 5K. The Birchfield Harrier was close to the course record.

Diane Heneghan confirmed her return to fitness by setting a new course record winning the women's race at New Marske, with clubmates Morag McDonnell and Katherine Waugh behind her.