Girl, three, crowned World Puddle Jumping Champion

A three-year-old girl has been crowned the 2022 World Puddle Jumping Champion.

Luna, from Kingsthorpe village near Northampton, won the 10th annual event, run by Wicksteed Park in Kettering.

Entrants who submitted videos were scored on criteria including jumping ability, enthusiasm and splashing distance.

Her mother, Zoe Rudd, said: "This is the first year she has entered, but Luna just loves puddles."

The championships used to be held in person at the Northamptonshire theme park, but moved to video submissions when the coronavirus pandemic began.

The move allowed people from all over the world to take part.

Mrs Rudd said she and daughter Luna "went on a four-mile walk around a nature reserve close to our home and when she saw a big puddle she just had to jump in it".

"She ended up absolutely plastered in mud and water but she had a great time," she said.

The judges at Wicksteed Park awarded the three-year-old first place due to her "enthusiasm, the distance of her splash and the amount of mud which ended up all over her".

Oliver Hart, five, from Barton Seagrave near Kettering, finished second, and Emilie Chambers, four, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, came third.

Judges also gave a special achievement award to Nicole Quiram, 18, who submitted a video of herself doing forward rolls in puddles and streams near her home in Richmond, Virginia, US.

Megan Wright, from Wicksteed Park, said: "We have been astounded by the number of superb entries we have received this year and clearly people have been having great fun, which is what the competition is all about."