WILTSHIRE all-rounder Tom Hankins has quit Premier One champions Bath to join arch-rivals Corsham.

Hankins, who took 33 wickets and scored more than 700 runs last summer, will link up with county colleagues Michael Coles and Peter Dennett at Station Road.

The former Lansdown junior is looking for a new challenge after picking up three championship trophies and two runner-up medals in five seasons at North Parade.

Hankins said: "I felt it was time for me to move on. I had a great few years at Bath but now I want to win the title with Corsham.

"I spoke to Colesy (Coles) at the end of last season about a possible move. He asked me where I thought the Corsham squad could be strengthened and it was obvious they were one batsman short.

"If I can reproduce my form with the bat from last summer and chip in with a few wickets we should be very competitive."

Hankins does not need reminding about the intense rivalry between the two Premier One clubs and the 25-year-old hopes his switch to north Wiltshire will not lead to any bad blood.

"I left on pretty good terms with Bath and hopefully it will stay that way," he said.

"I wanted a new challenge but I also wanted to enjoy the social side of cricket a bit more.

"At Bath the whole club is geared towards winning the national knockout and the social aspect is pretty poor down there. It wasn't the reason for me leaving, but it all adds up."

Coles, who is expected to take over from Neil Shardlow as Corsham captain next summer, said he was delighted with the signing of Hankins.

"It has filled the dressing room with confidence to know that Tom has decided to join us," he said.

"We already had a good nucleus of players but we were missing one top order batsman and one front line bowler. Hopefully Tom can solve both of those problems."

Corsham have also signed Taunton seamer Adam Kelly, who is moving from Somerset to the north Wiltshire area.

Kelly took 38 wickets last season at an average of 22.5 and impressed for the West of England Premier League representative side in a pre-season match against Somerset.

Corsham gloveman Shardlow kept wicket to Kelly in that match and is excited about the prospect of playing alongside him.

He said: "Adam bowled superbly that day. He had Marcus Trescothick in all kinds of trouble.

"He swung the ball away from the left-hander and was easily the pick of the attack.

"With Tom Hankins on board as well we will be looking to challenge for league honours next season."