THE second round of a major beach volleyball tournament is taking place at Ruislip Lido.

Some of the best players in the country will be competing in the second heat of the Volleyball England Beach Tour this weekend.

They will be competing for a place in the finals of the prestigious competition in Brighton this August, and although it is an amateur competition, one of the referees says the standard of play is very high.

Damien Searle is the only international-standard beach volleyball referee in Britain, and helped bring the competition to Ruislip.

He said: "This will attract the best players from across the country, but also people who want to get out there and see what it's all about.

"Hopefully lots of people will turn out, though it depends on the weather."

This is the second year a tournament heat has been held on the beaches of the lido, which is off West End Road.

Mr Searle, who also works for Hillingdon Council parks department, encouraged the tour to come back and is running a refereeing course alongside the games in a bid to raise the profile of the sport.

He said: "Last year it was fairly low key, but we had lots of people who happened to be on the banks of the lido and said they couldn't believe they hadn't heard about it.

"Hopefully they will come back and watch this year."

The heats take place on Saturday, June 14, and the finals are going to be held on Sunday, June 15.

More information about the tournament can be found at www.volleyballengland.org.