Eton Manor surrendered their unbeaten record at the eighth attempt, going down 17-11 at Letchworth Garden City on Saturday.

Defeat means Manor slip off the top of the London League One North standings, with Colchester claiming pole position.

It was Manor who started the brightest, keeping Letchworth pinned inside their own half.

As Peter Bicknell crashed towards the try line following a line-out, he was stopped five metres short, with his offload deliberately knocked on.

Manor elected to forgo the kick and take the scrum instead, securing the ball and allowing Nick Horton to release Harry Tustanowsky, who stepped around his marker and over the line, only to see the score ruled out for a forward pass.

From the resulting scrum, Manor’s Barney Newbury drove off the back and charged towards the line, only to see possession gifted to the hosts.

Letchworth opened the scoring soon after when a clearance kick from Manor failed to find touch, allowing the hosts’ full-back to charge upfield. Eventually hauled down inside the 22, the ball was shipped along the line until enough of an overlap was created for the home side to cross, however the conversion was missed.

Having fallen behind, Manor upped their game and drew level when Chris Jones drew his man and fed Tustanowsky to burst through several tackles before diving over.

With the scores level at half-time following a second missed conversion, Callum McKie put Manor ahead when he kicked a 32-metre penalty after the restart.

However the lead was short-lived as Letchworth’s full-back chipped the ball over the Manor defence and raced onto the kick before motoring across the line. The extras were added, putting the home side 12-8 in front.

With Letchworth on top, the pressure eventually told when good handling from forwards and backs allowed Letchworth’s full-back to dive over the line for his second try, although the conversion was missed.

Manor reduced the arrears when McKie kicked a penalty, and although Josh Permale crossed the line only to see another try chalked off, Manor were deservedly beaten.

Elsewhere in London League One North, Chingford were well-beaten by North Walsham, going down 39-8.

Bottom-of-the-league Woodford were trounced 39-0 at home by Thurrock.

In London League Three North East, Wanstead came unstuck against Cantabrigian, losing 33-12.

Epping Upper Clapton remain second in the Essex League One after easing to a 29-3 success over Canvey Island.