JOINING more than 70 hedgelayers, Jamie Ranson from Langore and colleague Benjamin Woods from St Giles on the Heath took part in the Blackdown Hills Hedge Association ‘Skills of the Hills’ event at the weekend.

Jamie and Ben are professional hedgelayers, whose passion is to keep this traditional art alive. They competed in the novice pairs class and were delighted to win their class beating some strong competition.

Jamie told the Post: “We are both ex-military (myself Army and Ben ex-Navy) and are professional hedgelayers who work locally maintaining hedges in the traditional way, the way that hedges have been maintained for generations, and help to keep a rural craft thriving in North Cornwall and West Devon.”

He added: “Both Ben and I are extremely proud of what we achieved at the weekend, two Hedgelayers from Lanson taking on the wealth of knowledge and experience in East Devon on the Blackdowns and coming out on top! It validates the hedging work we do locally in helping to manage the beautiful landscape that we are so lucky to live in.”