Heavy rainfall fails to dampen Britain's Strongest Man contest

IT was billed as the return to Minehead of Britain’s Strongest Man 2007, but torrential rainfall in West Somerset quickly saw the competition labelled ‘Britain’s Wettest Man’.
However, the rain did not put off spectators and hundreds of people turned out to watch the qualifying events which ran from Sunday, June 24, until Tuesday, June 26.
The finals of the tournament were taking place on Thursday and Friday, June 28 and 29.
The athletes were split into four groups for the qualifying rounds, and the first event was the carry and drag, where the athletes carried a 100 kg anchor 10 metres to a 200 kg chain, hooked the two together, and then dragged them another 10 metres to the finish line.
Other qualifying events included the overhead log press, safe lift, squat lift, dead lift, shield carry, fingal fingers, and Atlas stones.
Those athletes who reached the finals were taking on the farmers walk, car walk, dead lift tyre flip, overhead log lift and Atlas stones.
Unless people were there to see it for themselves, the results will remain a secret until later in the summer.
The competition, which is being sponsored by media company IMG and supported by West Somerset Council, is being filmed for Channel 5 and will not be broadcast until late in August.
Local newspapers, including The Crier, have been sworn to secrecy in the meantime in order not to spoil the surprise for viewers.
The competition has been hosted by Butlins, which was also the venue on the two previous occasions it has been held in Minehead.
Events have also taken place on the sea front near Butlins and on the beach, and also beside Minehead Harbour.
The worst effects of the rain during the week were countered when the district council stepped in with the loan of a number of small marquees to provide some shelter.
The athletes were supervised by equipment manager Jouko Ahola, who is a former two times world’s strongest man, while the referee for the events was Svend Karlsen, who was world’s strongest man in 2001.
The television exposure generated by the competition is estimated to give Minehead and West Somerset hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of advertising awareness free of charge, providing a boost for the district’s tourism industry.

• Our photographs show (top) athlete Ross Stone demonstrating his strength in front of the crowds. Photo by Mark the Photographer, ref BSMLP0110; and (below) athlete Jimmy Marku being interviewed for the Channel 5 series by Martin Bayfield. Photo by Mark the Photographer, ref BSMLP0087. Order image reprints online at www.tcpbymtp.co.uk.

Mother and baby rescued as homes are flooded and roads blocked

WEST Somerset may have escaped the worst of the recent horrendous weather, but the heavy rainfall still brought misery and discomfort to many local people.
In one incident, a mother and baby were rescued from a farmhouse near Coleford Water, Stogumber, by a Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service team.
The rescue happened on Monday, June 25, when Lydeard St Lawrence was one of the worst affected communities as many homes and other properties were flooded.
Up to four feet of floodwater engulfed the village and carried with it raw sewage which was thought to have been swept out of the local sewerage treatment works.
The drama unfolded in the darkness of the early hours of the morning.
Fire and rescue services were alerted at 2.40 am but were unable for the first two hours to reach families caught up in the emergency until the water began to recede.
It took a further three hours to pump out properties and make them safe.
Many local roads were impassable in an area stretching to Bishops Lydeard and Wiveliscombe, and there were also a number of minor landslides.
A number of homes in nearby Combe Florey were also flooded.
The return of the Britain’s Strongest Man contest to Minehead coincided with the start of heavy rainfall in the area and the event quickly became labelled ‘Britain’s Wettest Man’.
West Somerset Council came to the rescue with the loan of a number of small marquees to allow the competition to go ahead on a rain swept sea front.

• Our photograph shows the Church of St Lawrence, in Lydeard St Lawrence. Photo submitted.

Britain's Strongest Man contest returns to West Somerset

AS revealed in this month’s The Crier, Britain’s Strongest Man 2007 competition is returning at weekend to Minehead.
The event, which is produced by media company IMG and supported by West Somerset Council, is being staged in Butlins and on the town’s harbour and seafront.
The return to Minehead of the popular event for a third time in seven years was brokered by former council economic development portfolio holder Councillor Nick Messarra.
The competition starts on Sunday, June 24, and qualifying events run until Tuesday, June 26, with the final events taking place on Thursday and Friday, June 28 and 29.
The qualifying schedule is:

• Sunday, on the seafront - the anchor, chain and duck walk starts at 9 am, with the log press at 2 pm, followed by the safe lift.
• Monday, at Butlins - the squat lift at 9 am is followed by the dead lift, with the shield carry at 2 pm.
• Tuesday, on the seafront and beach - the fingal fingers event is at 9 am on the seafront, with Atlas stones at 2 pm on the beach.

The final events schedule is:

• Thursday, on the seafront and at the harbour - the farmers walk starts on the seafront at 9 am, followed by two events at the harbour, which are the car walk at 12 noon and the dead lift at 2 pm.
• Friday, on the seafront and beach - the morning’s events are on the seafront with the tyre flip at 9 am and the overhead log lift at 11 am. The final event will be the Atlas stones on the beach at 2 pm.

Councillor Messarra said: “It is great to see this high-profile and fun event coming back to Minehead again and it shows all the hard work that I put in with the support of the council officers has been worthwhile.
“I believe the competition is being filmed for a television audience across Europe which will be in the millions, so all those viewers are going to be able to see what a wonderful place West Somerset is and hopefully they will be encouraged to come and spend their holidays here.”
Council market towns regeneration officer Pete Vallance, said: “We are keen to support national competitions of this calibre in West Somerset, so we are delighted that Britain’s Strongest Man has returned to Minehead.
“The council and Butlins have worked in partnership to bring this event back to West Somerset because of the boost it provides to tourism and our local economy.
“We wish all the contenders the best of luck in this great challenge.”
Darren Sadler, one of the contenders for this year’s title who also competed in the championship when it was last held in Minehead in 2004, said: “I am really pleased to be returning to Minehead to compete in this year’s competition. It is a great venue.
“I have been training hard and I am looking forward to the competition. I am definitely up for the challenge.”
More information on the event c an be found by going to Britain’s Strongest Man website at http://www.theworldsstrongestman.com/.

• Our photographs show (top) some of the competitors in the 2004 event, and (below) Darren Sandler, who is competing again this year. Photos submitted.