Conker cheating claims blamed on 'sore loser'

The World Conker Championships has said accusations of cheating travel from a "sore loser".

David Jakins, known arsenic King Conker, won the men's contention during the tourney astatine Southwick, Northamptonshire, connected Sunday.

A Telegraph communicative included claims that the 82-year-old had cheated by swapping his existent conker for a metallic 1 and was besides a caput justice for the tournament.

Mr Jakins denied cheating and lawsuit president Jim Packer besides rejected the claims, saying: "We don't cognize wherever this communicative has travel from. Somebody's a sore loser, I think."

Kelci Banschbach, primitively from Indianapolis, Indiana, was overall victor of the event.

She defeated Mr Jakins successful the last lucifer to triumph the women's rubric and rubric "Queen Conker".

Competitors who spoke to the Telegraph thought it suspicious Mr Jakins had "obliterated opponents’ nuts successful 1 hit".

However, Mr Packer defended Mr Jakins, describing him arsenic "a dense hitter" and explaining it was not antithetic for conkers to beryllium destroyed.

"We've had galore players much than susceptible of smashing connected the archetypal hit," helium added.

Mr Jakins told the BBC helium had been playing successful conker competitions for 40 years and carried a metallic conker to amuse children.

"You get them to deed it with their conker and past their conker breaks and they can't judge it," helium said.

"It's intolerable to cheat astatine conkers - it's a load of nonsense."

On Monday, tourney organisers said successful a statement: "David Jakins, erstwhile finalist and long-standing committee member, precise overmuch deserves his King Conker title."