HELENSBURGH’S champion stone-skimmer, Alex Lewis, has set a new personal record on his way to a third successive British championship title.

Alex’s best-ever throw of 111 metres at the event, at Bishops Castle in Shropshire on Saturday, saw him retain his crown against a field of 170 competitors of all ages.

Having won the title for the past two years, and set a competition record of 107 metres in 2017, Alex’s best-ever throw helped him see off the challenge of eight times world champion Dougie Isaacs, from Blairgowrie, who holds the world stone-skimming distance record with a throw of 121.8 metres.

READ MORE: Stone skimmer Alex claims his second British title

The 22-year-old, who starred in a BBC Scotland documentary on stone-skimming earlier this year, said: “It was a spectacular event and there were some brilliant young throwers there too.

“It was wonderful to see a girl in the U12 category throw 44 metres, smashing the previous record of 16m.

“The British Championships are always well-attended by families, which makes the event particularly enjoyable.”

Alex’s third straight British crown came hard on the heels of his first ever win at an international stone-skimming event – the Swiss championships at Ermatingen on Lake Constance.

READ MORE: Alex's stone-skimming story features on new BBC Scotland channel

In tricky conditions, with boats passing by regularly and creating waves which present a significant challenge to ‘skimmers’, Alex smashed the competition’s long-standing distance record of 80 metres, winning the competition with a best throw of 89m, five metres clear of Dutchman Hans Eshaus.

Alex’s next competition is the All-England Stone Skimming Championships on Windermere in the Lake District on Saturday, August 17.

And, rather closer to home, he says he hasn’t yet given up hope of creating a major new stone-skimming event for Scotland and holding it in Helensburgh.

Last summer he suggested that the town’s skating pond at the top of Sinclair Street might be an ideal venue, though the idea sparked concerns over the impact on local wildlife of having the pond cleared and made suitable for a stone-skimming event.

READ MORE: Champion Alex aims to bring world's best stone skimmers to Helensburgh

“I thought it was a fantastic idea, and I still do,” he continued.

“The question is still whether the pond could be restored to its former glory.”