LONDON :Britain's hot and dry summer has put this year's World Conker Championships in jeopardy with a series of heatwaves leading to smaller than normal conkers, organisers say.

The event began in 1965, raising thousands of pounds for charity, and since 2013 conkerers from around the world have descended on the Shuckburgh Arms pub in the Northamptonshire village of Southwick.

This year, however, Britain's horse chestnut trees, on which grow the shiny inedible nuts which have been used to play conkers for generations, are not delivering their usual crop.

"It's been a worrying time, a really worrying time. Because we want the big, good, fresh conkers because they're the best for the championships," organiser Charles Whalley told the Daily Mail.

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