Champion named for Alcester Town Crier contest

A Herefordshire man won the Alcester Town Crier competition.

Peder Neilson, of Bromyard, became the new 2018 Town Crier Champion beating out 13 other competitors.

March at the communal gardens for the Malt Mill Lane housing complex in Alcester. The town crier competition took place from 1-3pm Saturday 31

Peder Nielson from the Herefordshire town of Bromyard took top honours

The competition was hosted by the current Alcester Town Crier Rory Duff.

The competitors did two cries as part of the competition, which included one about their home town. Each cry is 2.5 to 3 minutes long and limited to 125 words.

Dave Parkes, a former Alcester Town Crier who now serves as low bailiff and part of the organising committee for the competition, said: “Traditionally Alcester hosts the first Town Crier competition of the year and then they start happening all over the country.

"It brings a lot of colour to the town and I think the competition has been going on for well over 40 years now.”