By Jonathan White
A family from Lancashire has been crowned World Worm Charming Champions at the annual contest in Nantwich.
The Bowdens teased out an amazing 394 worms in just 30 minutes at the contest at Willaston Primary School.
It was the second time that dad Andy, son Dale and daughter Georgia had made the 120-mile round trip after taking part in their first Championships last year.
And this time the family, from Tarleton, near Preston, dug deep to charm out an impressive haul of wrigglers.
The family was also raising money via sponsorship for Addaction which offers residential rehabilitation to people fighting problems with drugs and alcohol.
Hundreds of people looked on as participants in the 144 3x3m plots had half an hour to collect as many worms as possible, using a variety of techniques such as vibrating a garden fork, singing and playing a musical instrument.
The Chief Wormer’s trophy for youngest wormer with 64 worms in plot 19 was won by 29-day-old Arwyn Davies.
Most Promising Newcomer award with 184 worms in plot 36 was won by Lucas and Melvyn Mostran.
And the Heaviest Worm trophy was won by Liam and Patrick Martin in plot 27 with 5.84g.
Trophy winners were filmed and interviewed by a news crew from Russian 24/7 English-language news channel RT, which highlights the global attraction of the competition.
The championships also included participants from Australia (259 worms), Philippines (81), Holland (202), Switzerland (114) and India (84).
The International Federation of Charming Worms and Allied Pastimes (IFCWAP) charmed 48 worms.
Willaston Primary headteacher Clare Grehan praised event organiser Mike Forster, all the volunteers and visitors for their continued support.
Events in the arena and playground included a performance by Willaston School Percussion band, Willaston Scouts Ninja Poi Display Team, dancing by X Academy of Performing Arts, and singing by TheFunkyChoir.com.
There were charity stalls, an inflatable slide and food and drink.
See a slideshow of pictures of the event by Jonathan White (below)
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