A TRIO of pool players are flying the flag for Scotland in the European Championships in Ireland this week.

Pals Frank Shields, Jim Wilson and Scott Docherty will face opponents from as far afield as Malta and France.

Frank, 53, is thrilled at being selected after playing for only three years.

He said: "I feel honoured to represent Scotland. It's the highlight of my career.

"We hope to put Inverclyde on the map by playing our best pool."

Frank and Jim are from Greenock and Scott is from Port Glasgow.

Jim who has been playing for 20 years, said: "It's brilliant, this is the second time I have represented Scotland at the Home Nations last year but these championships are a lot bigger.

They will be playing every day in the tournament which runs for a week in Killarney.

They play at Rileys in Greenock and in a Dunoon League in The Victoria Bar owned by Greenock woman Colette Larder.

Frank from Larkfield said the competition was tough to get through to this stage and they took on some top players through the regional rounds.

He said: "We've travelled all over Scotland playing competitions from Oban to Peterhead."

The men will be joined by two women pool players from Dunoon who have qualified for the competition for the third time.

They want to thank sponsors The Victoria Bar, Prodream USA, AAG Builders and Jim's Street Food.