TAKING on the country s cleverest quiz team was no mean feat for a group of young St Albans brainboxes. Five old Townsend Secondary School friends – Chris Platt, Tom Price, Joe Price, Lisa Tridgell and Matt Barnes – stole the limelight last Thursday when

TAKING on the country's cleverest quiz team was no mean feat for a group of young St Albans brainboxes.

Five old Townsend Secondary School friends - Chris Platt, Tom Price, Joe Price, Lisa Tridgell and Matt Barnes - stole the limelight last Thursday when their team The Townsend Saints appeared on an episode of the BBC quiz show Eggheads.

The Townsend Saints, all of whom are in their 20s, are one of the youngest teams to take on the BBC's quiz masters and after five tough rounds on topics ranging from music to geography, only Lisa, aged 25, and 24-year-old Tom, made it through to the final stage.

But despite putting up a strong performance, the Eggheads, including Brain of Britain winner Daphne Fowler and Mastermind champion Kevin Ashman, beat the Townsend Saints twosome by three points to two in the general knowledge finale.

Chris, who invited the team round to his Bedford Road home last Thursday to watch the show, said he was proud of their performance: "I think we gave it a good crack and I was particularly impressed with how well Lisa and Tom did. It's insane how much those Eggheads know and I think you'd need Lady Luck on your side to beat them.

"We're not too fussed about losing because it was such a cool experience and, to be honest, we only entered for a bit of fun. We all enjoyed meeting the Eggheads and presenter Jeremy Vine and the only thing I regret is wearing my 'genius' t-shirt, especially because I only got one of my music round questions right.

"I think we'll just go back to doing pub quizzes at our favourite St Albans spots, such as The Hare & Hounds and The Goat. But to be honest, we rarely win those so who knows what inspired us to challenge the country's cleverest team!"

You can watch the Saints by logging on to BBC iPlayer and searching for Eggheads series 10, episode 81.