World contest may rely on German conkers

THE world conker championships could be forced to import horse chestnuts from Germany as the heatwave has shrivelled the UK crop.

Unusually hot and dry weather conditions sparked an emergency meeting of the organising committee last week as conkers have grown too quickly and are smaller than usual.

St John Burkett, who has been arranging and participating in the event for more than 20 years, said: “If the weather remains normal from now onwards we might get enough but if not we might have to import them from Germany.

“The last time we did this was in 1977, after the famous big heatwave.”

The next championships take place on Oct 14 in the grounds of the Shuckburgh Arms pub in Southwick, Northants. It regularly attracts up to 5,000 spectators and 300 competitors.