WORLD champions were crowned and a record broken in a field outside Coxheath Village Hall on Saturday.

Pie ‘N’ Smash defeated the Shrimp Shack Shooters 72-46 in the final of the World Custard Pie Championships and organisers are hopeful that a global record was smashed for the most custard pies thrown into a face in a minute.

Organiser Cllr Mike English, the new Mayor of Maidstone, bombarded fellow organiser and former mayor Mike FitzGerald and landed 59 direct hits. Mr FitzGerald said: “I took quite a pounding and I could not see a thing. Rest assured I felt everything.

“It was a great day, everyone had a lot of fun.”

The current record is 54 and a video has been sent to the Guinness Book of Records for verification.

Twenty teams of four took part with the best four qualifying for the semi-finals. Each duel consisted of 80 pies, with points awarded for a direct hit to the face, a near miss above the shoulder and for hitting any part of an opponent’s body.

The pies were made using flour and water, instead of custard.

See Friday's Kent Messenger for more pictures.