Richard Bland made a stunning late charge for the lead on day two of the British Masters, holing six birdies on a superb back nine.

The Englishman had been tied for second after shooting 67 on day one and saw Alex Noren and Andrew Johnston - two of the men he had been level with - move into the clubhouse lead with six-under rounds.

But after reaching the turn at just one under, Bland found another gear at hole 10 as he swiftly reeled in the leading pair and birdied the last to sneak in front.

Noren and Johnston played alongside each other at The Grove and, starting on the 10th hole, it was the Swede who made early inroads, registering six birdies in his first 10 holes.

Noren - the highest-ranked player in the field - was eight under for the day heading into the last, but a costly double bogey saw him drop into a tie for the lead before Bland's late heroics.

Johnston also made eight birdies - including one at the last as Noren slipped up - on Friday, with bogeys at four and eight the only blemishes on his scorecard.

Overnight leaders Tommy Fleetwood, Richard Sterne, Marc Warren and Mikko Ilonen experienced differing fortunes on Friday.

Fleetwood remains in the mix at two adrift of the leader following a four-under round of 67, tied with Scott Jamieson and Anthony Wall, while South African Sterne is a shot further back.

Warren and Ilonen struggled to replicate their Thursday showings and now sit 11th and 17th on the leaderboard respectively.

England's Luke Donald missed the cut at the tournament he is hosting, ending day two five over after failing to atone for the damage done on Thursday.