HAMPSHIRE League wonder club Winchester City bulldozed their way to the Premier Division title with a double-figure demolition job on Portsmouth RN last night.

A point would probably have put paid to Vosper Thornycroft's stubborn challenge, but Neil Hards' thoroughbreds underlined their championship pedigree with a clinical 10-1 win.

Top gun Andy Forbes fired a hat-trick, Adam Rogers and Dave Piper got two apiece and there were singles from Lloyd Webber, Matt Bicknell and Liam Green - the latter's first goal for the club.

Jon Wallsgrove's 45th-minute reply had made it 3-1 at half-time, but Winchester were simply irresistible after the break.

For the moment, the celebratory champagne is on ice. City will be presented with the trophy at their Easter Monday game against Vospers (12.30pm) and Hards intends to make a day of it.

He said: "We've got a barbecue after the game and will celebrate then.

"The players have got what they deserve. They've been a credit to themselves and to their teammates this season.

"Our goal was to win the league and hopefully be accepted into the Wessex League. We're halfway there and hopefully we'll be a Wessex club next season."

David Malone, City's director of football, said: "It's been a long slog, but it's a nice feeling. Our first game of the season was a 6-0 home win against Portsmouth RN and now we've clinched the title by doing the double over them."

Paying credit to Vospers' durability, Malone said: "It's good they kept on winning, otherwise the whole thing would have been over weeks ago.

"We've got to keep going now because we've still got a couple of cup finals to play and if we start losing it'll take the shine off all we've achieved.

"Our supporters have been great. I don't think we've been to one away game and had fewer than 30 to 40 fans with us. For this standard of football, that's really good. We've got a decent hard core of support and I hope we can add to that now and press on."

City are hoping for a crowd of 400-plus on Monday.