Fighting bowlers are banned

Julian Cooke, Anthony Gray and father and son Ben and Liam Page were given the tough penalties after the incident at Meole Brace Bowling Club.

A dispute over the rules of a game of poker the four were playing led to the fight breaking out.

Mr Cooke, 42, of Meole Brace, and Mr Gray, 38, of Stiperstones, are top county bowlers and play in the Shropshire Premier League with Meole Brace and Ford.

The sanctions mean none can set foot at the club in Meole Brace for the next 10 years.

It was originally a lifetime ban, but the term was reduced following appeals by all the men.

Meole Brace Bowling Club secretary Don Harrison said today Anthony Gray suffered a thumb injury which needed hospital treatment after the fight in January.

"It was a dispute over cards. We have had letters of appeal off them and we will look at each one carefully," he said.

"The dispute was over the rules of the game of cards and it got a bit out of hand. Someone grabbed hold of somebody. It turned into a fracas."

Mr Harrison said they could appeal the 10-year ban after five years.

Members of the Tanners Shropshire Bowls League were told of the sanctions at a meeting in Greenfields on Thursday.

Ben Page, 51, of Edgebold, who works at PCP, today said he had been defending his son and he thought the length of the ban was unfair.

Julian Cooke, who works at Uniq in Minsterley with fellow bowler Anthony Gray, said he regretted the incident and had since sorted things out with the others.