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World Conker Championships held in Northamptonshire World Conker Champion crowned in Northamptonshire
(about 3 hours later)
Hundreds of people from around the world are taking part in this year's world conker championships. A new world champion was all-conkering after a day of fierce competition in a Northamptonshire village.
The event is being held in the village of Southwick in Northamptonshire, with thousands of spectators expected. Some 200 entrants from 10 countries, including Japan, South Africa and the US, battled it out at the World Conker Championships in Southwick.
Richard Howard, who is the ringmaster of the day's events, said 10 countries were competing, including Japan, South Africa and the US. After smashing countless conkers, Steven Prescott and Amy Farrow were crowned King and Queen Conker.
The event started in 1965 and has grown year-on-year ever since with competitors playing on eight podiums. Mr Prescott, of Henfield, West Sussex, beat Londoner Ms Farrow in the final to become overall victor.
'Good eye' Mr Prescott was also part of a group which won the team competition for the third year is succession.
The winner on the day is led to a conker throne and crowned with conkers - and Mr Howard said whoever won would have gone through several rounds and have smashed many conkers to have gained "the title and the honour" of being a world-class conker player. The event started in 1965 and has grown year-on-year, with people playing conkers on eight podiums at the Shuckburgh Arms.
He said: "Usually the ones who are good at it are people with a good eye - people who are good at shooting, tennis players, sports people." Under the rules, conkers are provided for each game and cannot be tampered with or re-used.
For those without experience he said the key to a win was to aim for the weakest point of the conker - the part where the lace goes through it, "as close to the string as possible" and not to hit it too hard. Each player takes three alternate strikes at their opponent's conker, with a game decided once one of the conkers is smashed.
Some 200 people are taking part in the competition. Ringmaster Richard Howard told the BBC in the build-up to the competition that "the ones who are good at it are people with a good eye - people who are good at shooting, tennis players, sports people."
Mr Howard said: "It's not often you get the chance to become a world champion." He added: "It's not often you get the chance to become a world champion."