The relay quartet of Eilidh Child (Malcolm Arnold), Shana Cox (George Williams), Margaret Adeoye (Linford Christie) and Christine Ohuruogu (Lloyd Cowan) crossed the line in a time of 3:22.61, more than a second and a half ahead of fourth placed France.
Child, who ran a split of 51.7 to set the team up on the opening leg, said: "I'm just delighted that we could come home with something. We knew it would be tough with the Russians and the Americans but I just tried to set it up for everybody else and not panic too much that I was on the outside."
After an excellent split of 50.3 on leg two, Cox said: "It felt really good and it was an exciting race. We knew it was going to be a tough one with the Russians at home and the Americans who we always have great competitions with. We made a pact to ourselves that we were going to go into it together and come home together and we were going to try our best."
Adeoye propelled GB & NI into third place on leg three with a split of 51.1, she said: "I'm excited to get a bronze medal. When I stand on the podium I'm going to be over the moon and doing backflips."
Newly crowned individual 400m World Champion Christine Ohuruogu, brought the team home on the last leg with a split of 49.6, said: "I'm really happy. I really am proud of the team; they all turn up, show up and do exactly what's asked of them, they're phenomenal athletes. Eilidh with what she's run, Margaret who stepped in last minute to cover for Perri and Shana who always runs a good leg. I've got a bronze but I'm more happy for them in getting a bronze."
