LOCAL climber Gareth Parry has scaled the heights by notching up a national title for a second time.

The 33-year-old clinched the British Indoor Climbing Championship (BICC) in a nail-biting finale.

Gareth, who comes from Holcombe Brook but who now lives in Droughts Lane, Simister, won the title for the first time ten years ago. This time, he won the first round of the BICC event in Edinburgh but finished only seventh in the second round in London. That meant Gareth had to come first in the final round to win the championship. And that's what he did.

The BICC is an indoor climbing event slightly different to the sport of bouldering which Gareth specialises in. He is hailed as consistently Britain's best climber on the world scene. In 2004 he was rated eighth in the world rankings.