Elgan Pugh retains British Timbersports title

Extreme axeman Elgan Pugh has retained his crown in the dangerous world of Timbersports for a fourth time.

The 36-year-old builder from Bala, Gwynedd, faced 14 other competitors in the British championships in Oxfordshire.

He got a taste for the sport by competing in similar events staged at the annual Royal Welsh Show in Powys.

Timbersports involves chopping, sawing and slicing wood at speed with axes, saws and chainsaws.

"You can never stop improving," said Pugh, a father of four.

"The more training you do, the more you get out of it."

He trains in the evening by cycling, running, weight-lifting and playing five-a-side football.

But he said the best training was practising the disciplines involved in Timbersports such as the "standing block chop" which simulates the felling of a tree.

Then there is the "spring broad" where athletes cut anchor points into a trunk, placing springboards to stand on and climb up the trunk, before chopping through it about 2.8m (9ft) off the ground.

Pugh was up against several other Welshmen, including Glen Penlington, from Knighton, Powys, who won the underhand chop category which simulates cutting up a felled tree.

The sport, which celebrates pioneer skills, began to grow in popularity in the UK in 1980s.

The world championships are being held here for the first time in October.

Those finishing in the top four in Oxfordshire will qualify for a GB relay team with Pugh also competing in the individual competition in Liverpool.

Pugh came ninth overall in last year's world championships in Lillehammer, Norway.