Science wins conker championship

About £300,000 has been raised by the championships since the 1960s

A mechanic claimed he applied science to win the 44th World Conker Champion in Northamptonshire.

Ray Kellock, 62, of Rushden, Northamptonshire came up with his "kinetic energy theory" to claim the "king conker" crown in Ashton.

He devised a winning strategy during his opening game and put it into practice in the next six rounds.

When his conker was looking the worse for wear after he lashed out hard he decided to moderate and it paid off.

"In the first round I was trying to hit my opponents conker as hard as possible but seemed to be causing more damage to mine," said Mr Kellock, who runs a minibus company.

"I've got a scientific mind and it made me think.

"I decided that it was better to hold my conker still, let the opponent while away and then make sure I hit their conker every time but not too hard.

"It seemed to work and after getting through the first round I won the title.

"I didn't have a name for it because I thought it up while I was playing but I think I'll call it Kellock's Kinetic Energy Conker Theory."

More than 600 men, women and children took part in the annual championships.

The contest has raised more than £300,000 since a group of Ashton villagers started it in the mid 1960s.