MORE than 200 competitors turned up to take part in the inaugural World Christmas Cracker Throwing Championships in Tiverton on Saturday.

The longest distance was thrown by eight-year-old Elliott Hurrell, who managed an amazing 13.57 metres, beating all the adults in the contest.

Elliott had travelled from Peterborough with his father specifically to take part in the event and had been practising throwing Christmas Crackers in his back garden since the middle of November.

Organiser Sally Raynes, from Wacky Nation said: "We were really impressed with his dedication to become a World Champion. Apparently Elliott spent a lot of time training for the Christmas Cracker World Championships, so he certainly deserved to win and it was an awe-inspiring throw.

“It has been fantastic to see so many people from every age group participate in this festive sporty event. There were fits of giggling from the adults and very broad grins from the children who entered and that was a major reason for bringing a wacky event to Tiverton."

Another outstanding throw was by Edi Peard in the under 6's category.

He managed an astonishing 10.28m, nearly beating the men's record of 10.65m, set by Robert Pester. The ladies record was fiercely contested and eventually won by Indre Gerdvilyte who threw 8.9 metres.

Cllr Sue Griggs was very pleased with how the inaugural cracker-throwing event had gone. The competition was held in Phoenix Lane in conjunction with sponsors the Tiverton Portas Team and the Tiverton Town Traders, to add some fun and festive sparkle to the Tiverton town shopping experience this year.