Thousands flocked to the village of Coxheath, near Maidstone, yesterday to watch the 51st World Custard Pie Championships.

More than 2,000 pies were flung in the name of fun as 32 teams of four did battle in the hope of being crowned world champions - an honour eventually claimed by Pie Face.

The tournament has welcomed teams from across the globe throughout its five decades of history, and this year there was even media coverage from Germany and China.

Mike Fitzgerald, 80, has organised the event, which raises funds for a number of local causes, ever since its inception in 1967.

He said: "Last year was special because it was the 50th anniversary, but I was pleasantly surprised to see such a huge crowd this time around.

"The feedback from the teams was really good, and we had plenty more telling us straight away that they wanted to sign up for next year.

"It's meant to be a fun occasion, and people were telling us that they came for a bit of fun, but once you get to the latter stages it gets serious and you want to win, and that's so true."

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This year also saw the introduction of a children's wet sponge competition beforehand, which aims to be a training ground for future pie-throwers.