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Conker shortage threatens championship

THE organisers of the World Conker Championships have launched a desperate plea for help after a shortage of conkers threatened the competition’s future.

The annual event is held by the Ashton Conker Club and was due to take place on 10 October at New Lodge Fields near Ashton, Northants.

But the event’s organisers are struggling to find 1,000 ’‘high quality’’ conkers for the 450 competitors who travel from around the world to take part.

Horse chestnut trees near the conker club have produced a poor crop this year due to attacks by the invasive leaf miner moth.

A spokesman for the Ashton Conker Club has made an urgent plea for people to donate conkers.

He said: ’’With the World Conker Championships less than two weeks away it now seems that conkers are going to be in short supply.

’’The trees that have provided most of the conkers in previous years are definitely having a year off and the organisers of Ashton Conker Club are having to look further afield for nuts of the right calibre.

’’Every year a new threat rears its ugly head. Either drought or disease is a problem. The most recent problems have been a canker which kills horse chestnuts and an infestation of leaf mining moths which kills the leaves.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .