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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Conkers championship under threat | Conkers championship under threat |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The World Conker Championship held each year in Northamptonshire could be in jeopardy because of a disease which is attacking horse chestnut trees. | The World Conker Championship held each year in Northamptonshire could be in jeopardy because of a disease which is attacking horse chestnut trees. |
| Moths are destroying the leaves and a canker is killing the trees which means conkers are in short supply for the competition held in October at Ashton. | Moths are destroying the leaves and a canker is killing the trees which means conkers are in short supply for the competition held in October at Ashton. |
| Richard Howard, chief umpire, said: "It's a bit like having a football league with no footballs." | Richard Howard, chief umpire, said: "It's a bit like having a football league with no footballs." |
| Tournament organisers said they may have to import conkers from Europe. | Tournament organisers said they may have to import conkers from Europe. |
| Every year 5,000 conkers are sorted for shape and size - contestants are not allowed to bring their own. | Every year 5,000 conkers are sorted for shape and size - contestants are not allowed to bring their own. |
| Two million chestnuts | Two million chestnuts |
| But this is the first time in the competition's 44-year history that conkers have been affected by disease. | But this is the first time in the competition's 44-year history that conkers have been affected by disease. |
| About two million horse chestnuts in Britain are now under threat, organisers said. | About two million horse chestnuts in Britain are now under threat, organisers said. |
| The trees survive through sap transporting water and nutrients, but the bacterial canker causes the tree to split and ooze sap, meaning the tree is starved of its food supply. | The trees survive through sap transporting water and nutrients, but the bacterial canker causes the tree to split and ooze sap, meaning the tree is starved of its food supply. |
| Tim Upson, from Cambridge Botanic Garden, said: "If it did get a lot worse and we started to see a lot of trees dying it would certainly change the face of parks and gardens." | Tim Upson, from Cambridge Botanic Garden, said: "If it did get a lot worse and we started to see a lot of trees dying it would certainly change the face of parks and gardens." |
| Ady Hurrell, of Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, took the World Conker Championship last year. | Ady Hurrell, of Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, took the World Conker Championship last year. |
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| Tournament organisers say they may have to start importing conkers from Europe | Tournament organisers say they may have to start importing conkers from Europe |