City Bradford Esprit have won Britain's largest and most successful club diving team trophy.

They lifted the Portman Building Society Armada Cup in Plymouth, beating previous winners City of Leeds to the top prize, with the host club finishing third and Southampton fourth out of the 17 competing clubs.

Bradford won nine gold medals, two silver and two bronze, and they also took seven fourth places.

The event, which has grown in stature in its six years, is a major yardstick for the National Age Group Championships in Southampton in June.

Here Bradford must have their best chance in many years of becoming Britain's top age group diving team.

The success in Plymouth was the result of a lot of hard work by Esprit members since winning the ASA National Novices in Southampton last year.

Bradford are the only club to train at a five-metre venue, the opposition all training at premier ten-metre facilities.

The results were not only testimony to the dedication of the divers and coaching staff, but also the continued support of the City in supporting the divers' training programmes.

Biggest stars for Bradford were 19-year-old Oliver Murley and brothers and sister Matthew, David and Jenny Cowen.

Murley won the open one-metre and three-metre springboard events and 14-year-old Matthew did even better in the under-15 events, lifting the one-metre, three-metre and platform titles, breaking championship records in the three-metre and platform events.

David, ten, won the one-metre, three-metre and five-metre events in the under-11s, and 11-year-old Jenny took gold in the five-metre platform and silver on the one-metre springboard at under-13 level.

Murley did not compete in the platform event, having injured his shoulder in practice, but he would have been a strong favourite to take a clean sweep of the open category.

Matthew shrugged off an injury and illness-plagued season to dominate the under-15 events, while Jenny pulled out all the stops to win the under-13 highboard.

She not only beat girls on the Great Britain World-Class start team, but the World-Class Potential Team too, and the selectors' eyes will be firmly on her in the future.

David, meanwhile, cleaned up in the 11 and under events.

Also taking medals were Claire Lobley, with a superb silver medal in the open women's three-metre springboard - particularly impressive considering she pulled out of the GB championships last month with a back strain. Claire etched her name back among the contenders for medals in the ASA Summer Age Groups, and she also took a fine fourth in the highboard event.

Lauren Elliott and Chloe Hurd competed the medal line-up by taking thirds in the girls' 11 and under events. Hurd also had a fourth place in the same age group.

Leading team placings: 1 Bradford Esprit 405, 2 City of Leeds 398, 3 Plymouth Diving 378, 4 Southampton Diving Academy 358, 5 City of Sheffield 290.