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Scotland's Andrew Coltart breathed a huge sigh of relief after surviving a mid-round stumble to finally secure a long overdue second European Tour title in the Great North Open.

Coltart carded a final-round 72 for an 11-under-par total of 277 and a one-shot victory over fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher and Surrey's Paul Casey at Slaley Hall.

Wales' Bradley Dredge was on course to force a play-off until he ran up a double-bogey six on the 18th and had to settle for a share of fourth on nine under par alongside English pair Daren Lee and Steve Webster.

"I'm delighted, it's been a while," admitted Coltart whose only previous tour victory came over 300 rounds ago in the Qatar Masters in 1998.

"It's very difficult to try and find the self-belief when you have very little to justify it. I'm almost doubly delighted that it was pretty horrible and I managed to keep my head and get the job done."

Coltart began the day three shots clear of the field but at one stage found himself two shots off the lead after bogeys at the eighth and ninth while Lee had picked up four birdies in his opening 12 holes.

Birdies at the 11th and 12th got him back on level terms before another bogey on the 12th dropped him back into a five-way tie for the lead.

Crucially for Coltart however, of all the players in contention he was the only one with a tournament victory under his belt and as the rest faltered, a 15-foot putt for birdie on the 15th took him back to 11 under and alongside Dredge in the lead.

Dredge then suffered a terrible stroke of bad luck on the 18th when his tee shot hit a spectator and ended in deep rough which meant he could not reach the green in two and the resulting six proved very costly.

Coltart had the advantage of watching the drama unfold from the fairway and knowing he needed just a par four to win which he safely secured to claim the first prize of £133,330 which lifts him into 10th on the Order of Merit and eighth in the Ryder Cup standings.

"I would have been a lot happier with something more comfortable but that said I'm not going to complain," added Coltart, who was one of Mark James' wild cards for the 1999 Ryder Cup and lost to Tiger Woods in the singles in his only appearance.

"It wasn't pretty but I was trying not to let that bother me. In the past I would have been worried about how I was swinging it.

"I'm very disappointed that this has not come around sooner but I've only got myself to blame for getting in my own way.

"I hope this can be a springboard for future successes. When it sinks in it will prove a lot to me and do a lot for my self-belief and confidence."

By finishing second meanwhile, Casey secured his playing privileges for the rest of the season and next year from only his fifth tournament appearance.

The 23-year-old had used the fifth of his seven allowed invites to play here this week but the cheque of £69,480 added to his earnings from the other four events and is enough to earn a tour card and automatic entry into next week's Irish Open.

"My goal today was just to play well and give myself a lot of opportunities for birdies which I did," said the 23-year-old former amateur star who broke several of Tiger Woods' collegiate records while at Arizona State University and had a 100% record in Great Britain and Ireland's Walker Cup triumph in 1999.

"I'm in next week which was the goal at the start of the week and it's great to get my card."

The double English amateur champion, who turned professional in November last year, could even have been celebrating an amazing maiden victory.

But he picked up a double-bogey seven on the 11th when he thinned his third shot from a green-side bunker over the green and needed two chips to find the putting surface.

"I was pleased with the way I kept my head on my shoulders after that because it was about to roll down the fairway!" added Casey, who commendably birdied the 12th and 15th to complete a round of 69 which was bettered only by Gallacher's 68 in the last 10 groups on the course.

Dredge would have matched Casey's 69 and forced a play-off but for the double bogey on 18, the former Walker Cup player adding: "I hit a four-wood that drifted left on the wind but it was still going to be okay until it hit one of the gallery on the shoulder and cannoned left into a dreadful lie.

"It was annoying to finish like that. I didn't play well but hung in with a gritty performance and picked up shots when I could but I didn't want to finish like that."

Collated Final scores and totals (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72) (x) denotes amateurs

277 A Coltart 68 68 69 72 (£133,330)

278 S Gallacher 76 67 67 68, P Casey 71 66 72 69 (£69,480each)

279 S Webster 73 68 71 67, D Lee 66 74 69 70, B Dredge 69 67 72 71 (£33,973 each)

280 I Poulter 73 68 73 66 (£24,000)

281 C Pottier (Fra) 76 69 70 66, S Hansen (Den) 71 70 72 68, P Fowler (Aus) 71 71 70 69, D Robertson 73 70 69 69, G Havret (Fra) 73 68 70 70, L Parsons (Aus) 71 69 69 72, S Gardiner (Aus) 69 71 69 72, A Beal 72 69 68 72, J Spence 68 70 70 73

282 G Evans 70 74 69 69, J Rose 70 70 72 70, F Jacobson (Swe) 73 69 69 71

283 C Rodiles (Spa) 72 70 73 68, J Hugo (Rsa) 75 71 68 69, W Bennett 72 71 69 71, R Green (Aus) 75 64 72 72, B Rumford (Aus) 74 71 66 72

284 M Santi (Ita) 72 72 72 68, J Lomas 73 70 71 70, P Nyman (Swe) 72 72 70 70, R Chapman 69 72 72 71, E Boult (Nzl) 74 70 69 71, G Brand Jnr 70 74 69 71, O Karlsson (Swe) 74 65 72 73, N Vanhootegem (Bel) 72 66 72 74

285 C Watts 73 71 73 68, G Turner (Nzl) 69 74 73 69, P Nilbrink (Swe) 75 71 70 69, R Byrd (USA) 73 71 71 70, H Bjornstad (Nor) 73 72 68 72, A Oldcorn 69 72 71 73

286 M Roe 72 70 75 69, D Gilford 73 70 73 70, R Wessels (Rsa) 71 75 70 70, (x) N Dougherty 70 73 72 71, G Houston 74 70 69 73, N Colsaerts (Bel) 71 73 69 73, F Henge (Swe) 76 69 68 73, M Scarpa (Ita) 73 71 68 74

287 P Baker 70 71 77 69, G Owen 72 70 72 73

288 S Drummond 75 71 74 68, B Lane 76 69 74 69, E Simsek (Ger) 74 69 74 71, F Valera (Spa) 76 70 70 72, M Lanner (Swe) 74 68 71 75

289 J Wade (Aus) 74 67 76 72, M Pendaries (Fra) 71 71 74 73, H Otto (Rsa) 74 71 71 73, F Cea (Spa) 75 70 71 73, D Carter 74 68 70 77

290 M Archer 75 71 75 69, B Davis 75 71 74 70, SP Webster 71 73 72 74, R Bland 72 70 72 76

291 M James 74 71 76 70, S Dyson 72 68 77 74, C Hainline (USA) 73 73 71 74, R McFarlane 74 71 71 75

292 I Pyman 74 72 74 72, D Lynn 75 70 74 73, J Robinson 70 73 75 74, M Pilkington 71 73 74 74

293 M Florioli (Ita) 75 70 74 74, M Nilsson (Swe) 73 70 74 76

295 GJ Brand 71 74 77 73

298 D Orr 72 71 79 76

303 P Eales 74 71 80 78