Australian Craig Watson, Newport's skipper, picked up his seventh Premier League maximum of the season as Newport Wasps gained double-header delight at Hayley Stadium yesterday afternoon.

Watson hit the 15-point mark from five rides as Wasps stung Berwick to finally climb off the bottom of the Premier League on points difference from Newcastle.

On a remarkable afternoon, not only did Wasps beat the wet weather, but they were desperately close to picking up two bonus points.

But they collected five points out of a possible six from the two meetings, including their first bonus point of a long, hard season.

Four points now separate Newport (minus 291)and Newcastle (minus 295) at the bottom, both on 17 points from 26 meetings, and both have two away meetings to ride, Wasps at Stoke and Rye House, while Newcastle go to Berwick and Stoke.

It was defiant riding from Berwick reserve Krister Marsh, from the Isle of Wight, stepping in for Simon Cartwright, that denied Wasps the extra point as they made a determined bid to make up a 14-point deficit.

But a tactical ride, worth double points, by Marsh, brought him six points in heat 14, which halted Wasps' gallop to the extra point. Marsh finished with a paid 16 from six rides.

Wasps used a rider replacement for Tony Atkin, who found the rigours of back-to-back meetings physically too much for him, having only recently returned to the track following a broken arm.

Mads Korneliussen, who failed in his bid to gain a top-four finish at the World Under-21 championships, was on course for a paid maximum until he finished last behind Marsh and Adrian Rymel, Berwick's two most successful riders, in the final heat of the meeting.

Determined riding from Carl Wilkinson brought him a paid nine points to make him third leading scorer.

Neil Street, Wasps team manager, said: "It was one of the more pleasing efforts this season. Conditions were rather difficult, and to get both meetings on was an achievement, but not one of the riders complained and we did our utmost to make sure the meetings were completed."

Wasps: Mads Korneliussen 14+1 (6), Pavel Ondrasik 7 (5), Kristian Lund 7+2 (5), Craig Watson 15 (5), Carl Wilkinson 8+1 (4), Karl Mason 0 (5).

Bandits: Adam Pietraszko 2 (4), Ritchie Hawkins 4 (4), Josef Franc 5+1 (4), Tom P Madsen 1 (3), Adrian Rymel 12 (5), Krister Marsh 14+2 (6), Lee Smethills 6+2 (4).