HASLEMERE Town Crier, Christian Ashdown beat off stiff competition to win the national Town Criers’ Championship at Windsor Castle, on Saturday.

A grand total of 40 criers, including two from Australia, went head-to-head to win the coveted title before thousands of visiting tourists and were judged on their diction, inflection, clarity and volume within the grounds of the Royal Family home in the Berkshire town.

Christian said: “The Guild’s Championship is the UK’s top competition, and to win at Windsor Castle is an added bonus. I can only hope some of Windsor’s many tourists heard my Haslemere cry and may venture this way for a visit.”