A “scratch” Scottish band conducted by a Dreghorn girl took an English brass band contest by storm last weekend – despite never having playing together until a few hours earlier, writes Malcolm Tattersall.

Huge cheers greeted the 34 members of Tartan Brass as they raised their giant Saltire before marching through Denshaw, a little village on the Lancashire-Yorkshire border.

They were there to compete in the Whit Friday Brass Band championships, an annual series of contests held in 11 neighbouring villages in the Saddleworth district.

But until Thursday evening when they caught a coach in Glasgow many of the players – drawn from the Shetlands to the Borders – had never even met before.

And their only rehearsal came on Friday morning after an overnight stay at a hotel in Carlisle.

The crowds loved their joie de vivre though as they tumbled from their coach – affectionately nicknamed the Tartan Brass Chariot – outside Denshaw’s Oddfellows Club.

“Perhaps it’s our kilts,” smiled conductor Dawn Spence, 28, from Dreghorn, who normally plays euphonium in her local Irvine and Dreghorn Brass Band.

“We fly the mighty Saltire in all marches to make it clear we have come from Scotland. The odd occasion we haven’t flown it, people have come up to express their disappointment.”

Brass bands have been coming from all over Britain – and abroad – since 1894 to take part in the contests, held in 11 neighbouring villages with quaint names like Diggle, Delph, Dobcross, Friezland and Grotton.

There are the famous big boys like the Black Dyke Mills, Grimethorpe Colliery, and the Brighouse and Rastrick bands; police and military bands; village bands and youth bands.

This year there were bands from Switzerland, Norway and even Australia. But none gets a more rapturous welcome than Tartan Brass, who have competed every year since 2008.

Their best performance was when they came sixth at Uppermill in 2009. But it’s not about winning.

Dawn, a veteran of the last 10 contests, said: “We just enjoy having a good time and playing a few marches.

“Our members come from all over Scotland - from the Shetlands to the Borders - and all we ask of each player is that they try their best and enjoy the Tartan Brass experience.

“Everyone is welcome – we say ‘United by the kilt, we come en masse, Hello Whit Friday, we’re Tartan Brass, Anyone is welcome if you’ve got a horn, Just polish it up for a brass band storm’.”

They performed in six different village competitions finishing off in Delph which meant not getting back to their Huddersfield hotel until well after midnight.