IRIE Hill narrowly failed in her bid to ensure a place on the plane to Melbourne as she finished fifth, and crucially fourth Englishwoman, at the AAA's of England Commonwealth Games Trials.

The Hereford pole vaulter entered the competition at a conservative 3.70m and went clear first time, following this up with another first time clearance at 3.90m, which put her into first place on countback.

At 4.00m though, she struggled to clear and took all three attempts, which pushed her from first to fourth but left her fighting at the next height.

Hill had two attempts at 4.10m, the second being better than the first, but by that time both Ellie Spain and Kate Dennison had cleared, along with Zoe Brown and Janine Whitlock, so Hill passed her remaining attempt to 4.20m as a clearance would not have changed her position.

Whitlock was the only athlete to clear 4.20m, and Hill was left in fifth place and struggling to make the plane.

"The vagaries of the selection panel mean anything could happen, but realistically unless I improve dramatically between now and the selection deadline on September 4, then I won't be going to Melbourne as an athlete," she said.