AFTER years of underachieving, the Six Bells quiz team have begun to show their true potential as they cruised to a five-point victory over nearest rivals Sargents’ Mess to retain the Maidstone KM Big Quiz trophy.

The team, from Woodchurch, near Ashford, are regulars at all the KM Big Quiz events staged around the county and also snatched the Canterbury trophy from the all conquering Unicorn team from Canterbury who have dominated the east Kent events until this year.

• The KM Big Quiz teams
• More pictures of the teams

With 39 quiz teams taking part on the night organisers were more than satisfied with the £3,500 raised for the charity pot. This will be divided between the League of Friends at Maidstone Hospital, the Peggy Wood Foundation and the children’s road safety charity Kent Walking Bus Project.

With the Six Bells already having booked their place in the KM Big Quiz county final, due to be held at the Shepherd Neame Brewery, Faversham on December 1, the two Maidstone places will go to Sargents’ Mess, captained by Anne Sargent of Maidstone, and Definitely Maybe captained by Janice Roberts of Larkfield.

Friendly rivalry between teams representing KCC, Maidstone, and Tonbridge and Malling Councils saw the Mayors of the two districts take to the stage to both welcome guests and crow that each would beat the other to win the KM Big Quiz Local Government Shield.

By the end of the night Cllr Mike Fitzgerald and Maidstone had scored more than Cllr Russell Dorling from Tonbridge and Malling, but both Mayors were beaten by shield winners Kent Fire and Rescue and runners-up The Artefacts from the Maidstone Museum Service.

Ten teams competed for the NHS Shield with 610 Squadron coming out on top. The Edwards Harvey PR and Marketing Shield was won by a team of staff from the agency, rather than any of their clients competing for this separate honour.

Shepherd Neame, Profile Recruitment, Loose Swiss Scouts, ASDA and the Rotary Dawn Patrol were signalled out for special praise by KM Big Quiz Questionmaster Simon Dolby.

Sheps ran the Spitfire Charity bar donating the proceeds to charity, while Profile, based in Maidstone High Street, supplied a team of waitresses to ferry drinks to the tables providing guests put an additional £1 into the charity pot.

The Scouts helped with the organisation on the night while Rotary organised the raffle.

Asda stores at King’s Hill, West Malling and Sittingbourne donated wine to treat guests with a complimentary glass when they arrived and provide additional prizes on the night.

Other organisations supporting the event included: Mid Kent College, Leeds Castle, Edwards Harvey PR, Impact Creative, Day, Smith and Hunter Chartered Accountants, Handlesbanken, Fremlin Walk, Early Learning Centre, Next, Hop Farm, Build-a-Bear Workshop, P&O Ferries and Snappy Snaps.

Score sheet

1, Six Bells Plus Two, Woodchurch (69)
2, Sargents' Mess (64)
3, Definitely Maybe (63)
4, Optimists (62)
4, Bat and Ball (62)
6, Bookworms (61)
6, Kent Fire and Rescue (61)
6, Royal Dragoon (61)
9, The Artefacts (60)
9, Weakenders (60)
9, Hoi Polloi (60)
9, Mayor of Maidstone (60)
9, 610 Squadron (60)
14, Thick As A Brick (59)
15, Simple Mindz (58)
16, Monty's Gang (57)
16, Waggle Dance (57)
18, Birthday Babes (56)
19, It's a Bit of Fun (55)
19, Blind Roe (55)
19, Ethel the Aardvark (55)
22, Next Guys (54)
22, Handelsbanken (54)
24, Edwards Harvey PR Pop-Pickers (53)
25, Day Smith & Hunter (52)
26, X-Ray Ted (51)
27, Maureen's Maniacs (49)
27, Nearly Brilliant (49)
29, Cheeky Scampters 2 (48)
29, Natural Disasters (48)
29, Magnificent Eight (48)
32, Norfolk Chance (45)
33, Emma Royds (44)
34, 660s + 2 (43)
35, Next Dolls (42)
35, Loose Connections (42)
37, Team Ultra (40)
38, Palace Players (39)
39, BB's Babes (28)