Of the 43 teams who entered, Bridgend was the only Welsh council, as well as being a much smaller local authority than most of their rivals.

But despite this and the disadvantage caused because of the variations between English and Welsh local government, Bridgend achieved an impressive ninth place overall.

Bridgend County Borough Council’s Director of Resources, Gareth Moss, attended as an observer.

He said: “I was really impressed with the way that the Bridgend team worked together. The situations they faced were real and not easy to resolve. Our team worked effectively and were singled out for the way that they worked through issues with partner organisations.

“I think it provided a good learning opportunity and the fact that the team all clearly enjoyed themselves was a real bonus.”

Bridgend’s team was captained by Gary Jones from Cabinet and Committee Section. He was joined by Andrew Parry Jones (Physical Regeneration), Lawrence Darley (Scrutiny), Martin Morgans, (ICT & Customer Contact), Mark Beauchamp (Pupil Services) and Ceri Evans (Grand Pavilion).