Sandcastle competition on Woolacombe beach

GIANT turtles, a huge bottle of beer and even Michael

Jackson all made an appearance at the ever-popular UK National

Sandcastle Competition on Woolacombe beach on Sunday.

Hundreds of people graced the slightly damp sands of

Woolacombe to see some amazing sand sculptures crafted by local

teams, such as Actavis in Barnstaple, Ilfracombe Round Table,

and Lantern FM, as well as some entries from as far away as

London.

Despite gloomy weather forecasts, the sun decided to rear

its head just as digging began.

Ali Hunt, event organiser and community fundraiser with

North Devon Hospice, was determined to get the event off the

ground this year, come rain or shine.

She said: “The attitude was, let's just go for it.

“We had to cancel the event twice last year due to rain but,

as we all know, the weather forecast isn't always terribly

accurate.

“The week before this year's competition I'd contacted the

Met Office and checked loads of weather websites, all of which

claimed it would be an awful day.

“It turned out to be great though and we really were blessed

with the weather.”

Crowds of holiday-makers and locals alike turned up to watch

the 18 teams slowly transform piles of sand into finely-crafted

sculptures.

After three hours of digging, smoothing and painting, the

judging was handed over to North Devon Journal

editor, Richard Best, and proprietor of the Red Barn, Angus

Ashford.

First place went to Peter Charles-Thorne, from Paignton, who

was a late entry, turning up just hours before the competition

was due to start.

His immaculate dolphin creation, which was smoothed off with

a feather, drew a huge crowd all day.

Angus said: “The first place was a unanimous choice.

“To think that this guy just turned up on the day and ended

up winning is amazing and he definitely deserved it.

“The standard this year was very high and showed a great mix

of enthusiasm and general ability.

“With Lantern providing the music and plenty of people

around, it turned out to be a great family day out and I'm glad

it's fast becoming a regular addition to the Woolacombe

calendar.”

Second place went to regular competitors AA Engineering for

their Enchanted Wood entry and third place fell to Barnstaple's

Actavis team for their family of giant turtles.

Ali Hunt added: “Everyone did a great job with their castles

and I was particularly impressed with the North Devon Hospice

entry as this was the first year you could really tell what it

was.

“So far it looks like we have raised more than £3,000 for

the North Devon Hospice which is fantastic.

“To see so many teams turn out on what was due to be a very

rainy day is great and really showed the Great British summer

spirit.”