'Pea shooting' gaining popularity with annual world championships

London, July 17 (ANI): The noble art of pea shooting, which was once confined to school playgrounds, has been having its own world championships for 40 years.

The competition, which is staged in the small Cambridgeshire village of Witcham, located 77 miles north of London began as a way to raise funds for the village hall but proved so popular that it became an annual even, the Telegraph reported.

The shooters stand 12ft from a target, which is smeared with wet putty. Only peas hitting the target are counted and depending on where the pea hits the putty, awards can be five, three or one point.

Accuracy, not distance, is the aim of this competition, with contestants shooting a pea through a 12-inch tube, 12 feet towards a 12-inch target.

Competition is fierce and laser-guided shooters for enthusiasts are not uncommon.

For the first round competitors fire five peas at the circular target, the 16 highest scorers then progress to the knockout phase.

Some experts favour putting all five peas in their mouth at the same time and then, by deft use of the tongue, firing them off in machine-gun fashion. However, in the knockout section, competitors fire alternately and so are forced to reload.

In the semi final and final, competitors shoot ten peas alternatively. (ANI)