A GRANDFATHER smashed his son-in-law’s record to be crowned the World Black Pudding Throwing Champion.

About 5,000 people descended on Ramsbottom yesterday to revel in the annual unusual contest which has a Lancashire-Yorkshire twist.

And 1,000 competitors tried to knock stacks of large Yorkshire puddings from a 20ft plinth using the humble Lancashire blood sausage.

This year, the winner was 63-year-old John Barrett who managed to topple a 10 Yorkshirers. First-timer, John, beat two-time former champion, Huseyin Ozluk, who is also his son-in-law, and beat his record of nine puds.

Engineer John said: “My granddaughter wanted to watch her dad compete and I just thought I’d have a go. Next thing I know, I knocked 10 puddings over and I’d won the thing. I feel quite proud, but my grandaughter, she just can’t stop laughing. It was a fantastic day.”

The practice of pudding throwing dates back to 1455 when warring factions of the House of Lancaster and the House of York met for battle in Stubbins.