Competitors compete for the title at the national hedgelaying championship

More than 100 competitors previously put their chainsaw skills to the test at the national hedge-laying championships.

They were applauded by hundreds of spectators at Elmswell Farms in Driffield, where 10 regional styles were showcased.

Josie Muncaster, 31, shapes her hedges in her hometown of Cheshire.

“You don’t have to be Superman” to participate in the activity, he said, but now “he doesn’t need to go to the gym, which is nice.”

Having started the activity in a previous business, he said the “main driver” for continuing to hedge was the “nature benefits” the activity provided.

He said: “It’s good for landscape management, which is good for hedge rejuvenation, which is good for wildlife, good for carbon sequestration and good for flood mitigation.”

The competition is being held in East Yorkshire for the first time in 45 years.

Richard Preston of the National Hedging Association, which organizes the competition, said the event was beginning to be seen as a “viable career option”.

He said more young people are interested in fencing because of its environmental benefits.

Mr Preston said although the activity was “traditionally for raising livestock and protecting agricultural crops”, the hedges now provided “wonderful corridors for wildlife”.

He added: “Today they are a wonderful resource for the natural environment.”

Eric Wilkinson, who has been on guard for nearly six years, said although winning the trophy was a bonus, the championships were “all about camaraderie” and “seeing people I haven’t seen for a few years”.

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