THERE were ecstatic scenes at North Road as Brightlingsea Regent’s dreams of becoming Ryman League division north champions were realised.

In front of a crowd of 242, Regent were bathed in glory that was every bit as warm as the spring sunshine that their 4-1 win against Romford was played in.

The hosts headed into the fixture knowing that they had to better the result of title rivals Maldon and Tiptree to lift the crown with three games still to play.

And with the Jammers being held to a 2-2 draw by Dereham Town, Brightlingsea’s 4-1 victory sparked wild celebrations among the home crowd at their North Road ground.

It means manager James Webster has successfully steered Regent from the Essex and Suffolk Border League, through two levels of the Thurlow Nunn League and now into the top echelon of the Ryman League.

When they take their place in the Ryman League premier division next year it will be the highest placing that the club have ever been at and it was sealed by dominant first half against Romford.

Any early nerves that they may have had were quickly allayed as Phil Kelly stroked home Regent’s opening goal with just two minutes on the clock.

With their noses in front, though, Brightlingsea had to wait until the 40th minute to double their lead.

This time, it was Billy Hunt on target and two became three just before half-time when Aaron Condon got in on the act to make it 3-0 to Regent at the break.

With Maldon losing 1-0 at half-time, Brightlingsea knew one hand was on the title and their position was further strengthened when Hunt made it 4-0 three minutes into the second half.

The game was won and now all that had to happen was for the Jammers to not win.

Jack Brown-Sykes pulled a late goal back for Romford, but when news came through that Maldon had only managed a draw, the celebrations could begin for the Regent faithful.

The results mean that, with three games left to play, Brightlingsea hold an 11-point advantage over second-placed Maldon and can’t be caught at the top.

The Jammers knew they had to match Brightlingsea, but did their chances no favours as they had to come from behind in their game against Dereham.

Goals from Daniel Beaumont and Joe Gatting had put the Norfolk side two ahead at Park Drive and although Montel Agyermang and Sam Newson pulled the hosts level, they were unable to find the third to keep the title battle alive.

Meanwhile, there was a defeat on the road for HEYBRIDGE SWIFTS as they lost 3-0 in front of a crowd of more than 300 at Aveley.

It looked to be all square heading into half-time, but Hussein Jaffa put the hosts ahead in the 45th minute.

Michael Toner added a second within two minutes of the restart and Mason Bloomfield made the points safe for Aveley with a 61st minute third goal.

On Friday evening, there was a defeat for WITHAM TOWN at play-off hopefuls Thurrock as Adam Flint’s team lost 2-0 thanks to a Ronnie Winn strike and a late Jordan Clark penalty.