Men's World Conker champ cleared of cheating after claims he used one 'made of steel'

David Jakins, 82, who was embroiled successful an alleged cheating ungraded astatine the World Conker Championships aft his one-hit triumph has been cleared pursuing an probe into the contest

The Men's World Conker Champion who was accused of utilizing a conker made of alloy 'achieved his rubric fairly', an probe has concluded.

David Jakins, 82, who took the rubric connected October 13 aft a 'fantastic' one-hit win, was astatine the centre of a probe aft his defeated hostile Alastair Johnson-Ferguson raised concerns astir the conker Mr Jakins utilized during their face-off. The contention continued erstwhile the World Conker Championships discovered a steel conker, painted brownish and 'indistinguishable' from a existent equine chestnut prevention for its weight, successful Mr Jakins' pocket.

The seasoned subordinate - known arsenic 'King Conker' - denied having utilized the alloy equine chestnut astatine immoderate constituent during the tourney successful Southwick, Northamptonshire, adding that helium kept a alloy conker connected him for 'humour value'.

In a connection released connected Monday the World Conker Championships said their investigation, which considered video and photographic grounds arsenic good arsenic grounds and introspection of winning conkers, had concluded and that Mr Jakin’s triumph - his archetypal since helium began competing successful 1977 - was achieved fairly.

They said that the alloy conker was not utilized during play and that 2 of the conkers Mr Jakins won matches with were examined and were recovered to person shown the signs of being played with. Nothing 'untoward' was seen by the judges oregon the umpires, they added.

The connection said: "The video grounds pursuing the men's last appears to amusement Mr Jakins putting his manus successful his pouch earlier putting his different manus successful a antithetic pouch and drafting retired a conker helium had prepared earlier to propulsion to the crowd. However, successful truthful doing, the video shows intelligibly that helium was watched by a justice who was looking straight astatine his hand.

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"As good arsenic 2 judges, the investigating serviceman past appears, looking intimately astatine what Mr Jakins is doing, arsenic good arsenic the Chief Umpire. It is concluded that it would beryllium adjacent intolerable for Mr Jakins to person swapped the conkers unnoticed. The grounds of Mr Jakins, that helium had had the conker to amuse radical and arsenic portion of his relation arsenic ‘King Conker’, is accepted.

"The World Conker Championships truthful congratulates King Conker connected his triumph aft 47 years of play. It besides recognises the mode successful which each players took portion successful the Championships, particularly runner-up Alistair Johnson-Ferguson. Ultimately, we congratulate our reigning World Champion, from the United States of America, Kelci Banschbach."

The lawsuit based connected a accepted children's crippled requires its participants to usage randomly picked conkers threaded onto a string. The purpose of the crippled is for a subordinate to plaything their conker astatine their opponent’s until 1 of them breaks.

Mr Jakins was beaten to the rubric of wide World Conker Champion by his last opponent, 34-year-old women's champion Ms Banschbach, who lone took up the crippled past twelvemonth erstwhile she moved to Suffolk from the United States. She is the archetypal American national to person won the contention since it began successful 1965.

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