In Pictures: Black pudding hurlers go for glory at World Championships

The Ashes may have eluded England’s cricketers in Manchester, but a few miles away in Ramsbottom the host nation displayed its unrivalled prowess at a sporting contest where Australia, India and the West Indies are still novices.

Ramsbottom in Lancashire was the scene as competitors chanced their arm to win the much-coveted World Black Pudding Throwing Championships, as the eponymous blood-based delicacies were hurled through the air with victory eventually claimed by Tom Lowten of Lincolnshire.

The Lancashire hosts made it something of a Roses grudge match, with Yorkshire puddings used as targets for competitors who had to combine power and accuracy to knock the culinary symbol of the White Rose county literally off its perch.