The Kingsmen are celebrating their best ever performance at the National Barbershop Convention at Cheltenham recently by coming joint tenth in the competition.

This means they are currently the top barbershop chorus south of Bristol and Reading.

There are over sixty barbershop choruses in the UK, but only thirty-eight choruses competed in the competition which was staged at the Centaur Centre at the Cheltenham Racecourse, the winners being Great Western Chorus from Bristol.

The Kingsbridge-based chorus, the fifth largest chorus on stage, took 40 singers for the performance, three of whom, including 15-year-old Henry Tozer, were experiencing their first ever barbershop contest.

The Kingsmen, founded in 1991, selected two songs from their extensive repertoire for the contest and over the last year spent time improving their singing and performance technique which included workshops with visiting coaches and a retreat weekend in Torquay.

Musical director Roy Hann said: "This is a fantastic achievement and we were proud to represent the town of Kingsbridge and finish in the top echelon amongst previous winners.''

For more information about the group, including on how to join, visit www.kingsmen.org.uk.