A record number of worm hunters descended on Blackawton for the village's annual wacky festival on Sunday 4 May.

This year's Blackawton International Festival of Worm Charming attracted more than 100 entrants and hundreds of spectators to a field in this sleepy South Hams village.

The popular event was organised by John and Gill Skuse, who run their own worm breeding business from Collaton Farm at Blackawton.

The Devon-based Tatooine Exchange team of worm charmers were this year's winners - collecting an impressive 117 worms.

Adults and children competed to extract the greatest number of worms from their dedicated one metre square patch of grassland but they had to do it without digging up any of the turf!

Favourite tools to bring the beasts to the surface this year included liquid combinations of water, beer, gravy and sugar - which contestants were required to sample themselves beforehand, just to prove that it wouldn’t do the worms any harm.

Worm master and event helper Nick Smith said: "The whole day went very well indeed; it was probably the best one so far.

"There were 100 entrants and considering the awful weather forecast, it ended up going extremely well.

"The number of worms that were collected was unbelievable."

According to Mr Smith, the record number of worms charmed at the festival is 149.

The annual festival was started in 1984 when two locals decided to try it as a means of banishing the winter blues.

Other highlights of the day included a ram roast, beer festival, live music and street traders.

The 2008 festival was sponsored by Kim Tucker Plant Hire and Ground Works, West Country Worms and Shirley Smith at Travel Counsellors.

Money raised from this year's event will be shared out between the Blackawton Village Hall and Devon Air Ambulance.