Oxford's Kathy Hawes staged an amazing Houdini-style escape to win the Golden Charter Women's All-England Champion of Champions crown in Nottingham.

The prolific title-winner was just two shots away from defeat at the hands of Lincoln's Penny Strong in Tuesday's final when she launched an incredible fightback to snatch the trophy.

Hawes, winner of the All-England Fours three times in four years, edged ahead 5-3 after six ends of the final, but could only hang on grimly as experienced campaigner Strong struck a purple patch.

Kathy Hawes

The Lincoln ace scored on 12 of the next 14 ends to charge into a 19-7 lead, needing only two more shots to take the title.

Hawes, was pinned against the ropes, but by somehow restricting her rival to ten singles (alongside two trebles) during that charge, she evaded the knockout punch and waited for her chance to swoop.

Turning the tables, she recorded scores of one, three, one, two, four, two and one to win the 27-end marathon 21-19.

Hawes had earlier summoned up another spectacular comeback to see off Prince Arthur, Kent star Linda Ryan in the semi-finals.

Ryan was just five shots from victory when she led 16-10, but that advantage was swiftly swept away as Hawes pounced with a maximum four, a single, a treble, a double and a single over the next six ends to win 21-17.

A 13-shot blast saw Hawes dominate her quarter-final clash with Londoner Dorothy Vincent from the Temple Club, Denmark Hill.

The encounter was all-square at 3-3, then Hawes swooped, drilling home a four, a single, a treble, a single and a four over the next six ends to power ahead 16-4.

Another maximum four, followed by a single two ends later, took Hawes past the winning post 21-10.

Hawes also reached the Under 31 singles final before losing 21-9 to C Northall (Teignmouth).

Meanwhile, Chipping Norton's Barbara Sleeman was edged out by prolific title-winner Jayne Roylance, a Norfolk and England skip, in the quarter-finals of the main singles.

Sleeman made a storming start, building a 9-5 lead over the first seven ends.

However, Roylance, the 1993 champion from North Walsham, hit back with a vengeance, scoring on five of the next six ends to charge ahead 14-10.

Sleeman stuck to her task, clawing back a treble, a single and a double over the next five ends to cut the gap to 18-16, but Roylance notched three singles on the run-in to win the 22-end battle 21-17.

Earlier, Sleeman defeated another England international legend, Southampton's former commonwealth singles champion Wendy Line, 21-14.

Oxford's Sue Dadson and Jean Nicholas saw a 12-shot blast sink their title hopes in the unbadged pairs.

The Oxford and District duo trailed Welford-On-Avon's Viv Hall and Joan Parfitt 6-2 after four ends of their first-round clash, but they battled back, scoring on five of the next seven ends to draw level at 9-9.

Dadson and Nicholas were then sent reeling as the Warwickshire pair cut loose, amassing 12 shots as they notched up scores on six of the next seven ends to lead 21-10 with just three ends left before finishing 24-14 victors.