PUBS and sheep shearing might seem like a dangerous combination, but last week the two came together in Kington to raise more than £1,300 for charity and put on a show for around 200 spectators.

Defending champion Steve Rowberry once again pricked up the top prize at The Oxford Arms Annual Speed Shearing Competition.

The full-time shearer drew on all his experience cutting down under in Australia and New Zealand to pull out the win in the dramatic one-sheep format.

Unlike most traditional competitions which see each shearer trim up to four sheep, at the Speed Shearing champs competitors get one sheep, and one shot at victory.

James Lewis, who organised the event, said: “It’s one-up, one-down. The shearers are under real pressure.

“They’ve got to hold their nerve up on the stage. But the atmosphere is great.”

This is the third year that 27-year-old farmer has ran the competition, an idea he got from Australia.

He said: “The shearers down there are fast – but they can’t keep their bottle on the stage.”

Mr Rowberry, from Allensmore, was able to hold his – with the speed he gained from shearing in the UK during the summer and the Southern Hemisphere in the winter proving to be the difference.

Paul Dyke, from Hundred House, near Builth Wells, won the junior and intermediate sections with Alan Lloyd-Jones from Corwen North Wales picking up the senior title.

This year's event raised more than £1,300, the competition's best-ever total, which will go to the Midlands Air Ambulance.