THEY say the best things come in small packages and for some cricketers winning the Ashes urn is one of the highlights of their career.

But Bolton Slot car-racing duo Graham Walker and Sam Weldon are celebrating after bringing home the 2.5inch trophy for second place in the World Proxy race series which ran between April and November last year.

They were the builders and designers of the the car.

Graham said: “It is such a great achievement as this was our first ever event against much-more experienced car builders.

“We are both regular racers at the Bolton Slotcar club in the weekly league racing.

“Sam is a relative newcomer to the hobby while I have been the club champion for the past two years.

“As well as weekly racing, the Bolton club members are also involved in a series nationwide for old style chassied cars and motors as raced in the 1960s.

“Last year, our members were in the top 10 in the series which visited tracks in London, Newcastle and Corby.

“This year, there was an additional race in Inverness which saw us travelling north of the border in the quest for more points.”

Graham admits that it would be unfair for them to get a huge trophy for one of the most intricate sports.

He said: “It is quite a small trophy but I also have quite a few larger one – one of which includes a racing helmet for our club championships.

“The sport is a bit of a learning curve and is more difficult than it looks.

“The key is practice and doing things over and over again and that is how you get good at it.

“You don’t really need to have any engineering skills because there is always someone you can ask for advice.

“It does pay off if you have a steady hand and can solder.

“Just like any sport, there are strict rules when it comes to national and international competitions such as tyre width, height of the car of the floor and it gets really competitive.

“Sam and I have only been doing the sport competing in the Proxy competition recently and we will be wanting to go back next year and win it.”

Graham’s obsession with the sport started back in 1966 when he was a member of a cycling club and they visited a Yorkshire museum which was running the races.

He said: “We thought we would have a go and found out there was an exhibition club in Bolton which we joined.

“Obviously when I got married and had kids it tailered off a bit but now that I am retired I can commit to it all the time.

“It is just an enjoyable sport and we are getting some kids off the streets to do this fun activity. "