Bowls champ opens his own shop in South Shields

English bowls champion David Bolt has opened his own shop, Bolt Bowls, at South Shields Bowling Club, in Horsley Hill Road.

And the ambitious England international, from Sunderland, is hoping to develop it into the main centre for bowls retail in the North East.

The 37-year-old said: “So far it is working out as I hoped it would and I just want to get the message out there to the people of South Tyneside, Sunderland and further afield that they no longer have to travel so far to get their kit.

Bolt – who is the first Wearsider to win an outdoor English national singles bowls title in more than 100 years – recently took voluntary redundancy from his job as a postman in order to realise his dream.

“I was taken seriously ill last year and it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to continue as a postman,” he explained.

“So having talked it over with my wife, Lianne, I decided to take the plunge and do something I’ve always wanted to do.”

The business also has a website, www.boltbowls.com