Toe wrestling event returns with big prize pot

An international toe wrestling competition returns to Derbyshire this weekend - and competitors will be hoping to win a boosted prize pot.

The World Toe Wrestling Championship takes place at The Bentley Brook Inn in Fenny Bentley on Saturday, with the prize money increasing to £5,000 each for the men's and women's winners.

Defending three-time champion Ben Woodroffe, 36, is among those hoping to win the competition, having had his toenails surgically removed to "aid dexterity and toe stamina".

"You have to [make] sacrifices to be great in sport," he said.

Mr Woodroffe, who is known as "Toe-tal Destruction", has been taking part in the sport for more than 20 years.

"It's always gone on at The Bentley Brook Inn and I'm from Fenny Bentley," he said.

"So it was just a coincidence that I was always up there when it was going on when I was a kid.

"I just thought, 'you know what, I'm not so great at any other sports - but this one, I'll give it a toe'."

Lisa "Twinkletoes" Shenton, from Ashbourne, is the reigning female champion.

Organisers say the event first started in 1974, when a group of friends from Wetton in Staffordshire were fed-up of seeing England lose at other world championships.

This year, the men's winner and the women's winner pocket £5,000 each. The total prize pot previously was £1,000.

Mr Woodroffe said: "In this sport we applaud equality, so we've got the same prize money for the women as we do the men."

The annual event, which starts at 11:00 BST, attracts people from all over the world, Mr Woodroffe added.

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