Ray Kellock, 62, of Rushden, adopted his "kinetic energy theory" to claim the king conker crown at the 44th World Conker Championships in Ashton, Northamptonshire.

He devised his strategy during his opening game and put it into practice in the next six rounds.

"In the first round I was trying to hit my opponents conker as hard as possible but seemed to be causing more damage to mine," said Mr Kellock, who runs a minibus company.

"I've got a scientific mind and it made me think. I decided that it was better to hold my conker still let the opponent whale away and then make sure I hit their conker every time but not too hard.

"It seemed to work and after getting through the first round I won the title.

"I didn't have a name for it because I thought it up while I was playing but I think I'll call it 'Kellock's Kinetic Energy Conker Theory'".

More than 600 men, women and children took part in the annual championships which has raised more than £300,000 since it was launched by a group of Ashton villagers in the mid 1960's.

Competitors must follow strict "rules of engagement" and all conkers and laces are supplied by Ashton Conker Club.

For the second year running the championships were sponsored by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health - which aims to show that health and safety officers are not ``killjoys".

To read more about the championships click here

More pictures in Monday's Evening Telegraph