Conker players forced to freeze seeds after UK storms bring early fall

Frozen conkers are thawed out before playing, said the chair of the World Conker Championships. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA

Contestants gearing up for this year’s conker tournaments have been forced to freeze the seeds they use to compete, after stormy weather caused them to drop earlier than normal.

Every autumn hundreds of people compete at conkers, a traditional British children’s game in which participants use a conker threaded on to string to strike their opponent’s conker until one breaks.