THERE were some tough nuts to crack at the annual Scottish Conker Championships at the weekend.

Competitors from all over the UK gathered on the Tweed Green in Peebles on Saturday – in a bid to take home one of the coveted trophies.

And after taking part in a string of events, this year’s winner was ‘El Conkistador’, from Conkistan, who defeated Norfolk’s Tim Frost in the final.

Maurice Hurrell from Fife won the rogue category; Tristan Van claimed the youth 13-17 trophy; while Phoenix Taylor prevailed in the seven-11 age group.

The event is organised each year by the Borders Forest Trust. And the organisation is delighted with how the day went.

Anna Craigen, the group’s community and education officer, told us: “It was a really good day by all accounts, everyone enjoyed it and we saw some new champions. We were very pleased for El Conkistador, who won the adult section, as he has been a regular competitor at the event for many years.

“We were also very pleased with the turnout and luckily the weather held out for us – even if it did get a little bit chilly later on in the day.

“There were four contestants taking part in the youth section, 24 in the adult section and 21 children taking part in the junior section, which was great.

“It was also great to welcome many competitors from around Britain. We had some from Fife, and one contestant was from Norfolk, Tim Frost, who reached the final – that was the furthest distance travelled.