Lyne came through in the last few metres for her bronze

Marlon Devonish's run in the 200m matched earlier efforts from 22-year-old 400m hurdler Rhys Williams and rising 800m star Becky Lyne.

Williams produced a fantastic late surge to take third behind Greece's Periklis Iakovakis and Marek Plawgo.

And minutes later Lyne stormed down the home straight to snatch a shock bronze.

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After three days of competition the GB team had won just one silver medal, with several high-profile medal hopes failing to deliver.

But young talents Williams and Lyne plus old-stager Devonish finally delivered to lift British spirits.

And there was good news for triple jumpers Phillips Idowu and Nathan Douglas, plus 5,000m runners Mo Farah and Nick McCormick, who qualified for their respective finals.

I hate it when people moan when they a medal, so I won't Becky Lyne

Williams was in seventh place coming into the home straight but came through strongly to snatch bronze from Naman Keita by one hundredth of a second.

Williams said: "I was trying to relax but my legs had gone at the end."

The 24-year-old Lyne produced a run that belied her international experience to overtake the Ukraine's Tetyana Petlyuk in the final few strides.

Lyne said: "I should be happy - if you had said at the beginning of the season that I would win a bronze at the European Championships then they would have put you in a mental asylum.

"I hate it when people moan when they a medal so I won't, but you always dream, don't you? I had felt so good in the semi-final.

"I just lost it a little bit on the final bend. I got a push which put me off a bit - I probably wouldn't have won, but I could have got a personal best.

"It's nice to have lifted British spirits a bit by getting a medal."

Devonish was no match for 100m champion Francis Obikwelu in the 200m, and was also unable to catch Sweden's Johan Wissman.

But he held on from the fast-finishing Kristof Beyens to seal his second successive European 200m bronze.

Devonish said: "It's a shame that I didn't run as well in the final as I did in the first round.

"But I'm okay with that - that's an okay performance."

Too close for comfort

Iakovakis dominated the 400m hurdles from start to finish and fully deserved gold, with Poland's Plawgo clear in silver.

Williams admitted: "That was tough. I was keeping my fingers crossed but that was too close for comfort at the end.

"I knew the Greek guy would go off fast.

"I had everyone in front of me with 100m to go - I knew I'd come through but it was tough."

Lyne said she would now pull out of her other event, the 1500m, because of soreness in her Achilles.