BLACKPOOL chose the best in the country for crying out loud last Saturday.

Colourful town criers came from all over England to compete in the resort's first-ever town crying competition

Staged by the Blackpool Town Centre Forum, the event included a procession round the town led by the magnificent dray horses of Thwaites brewery, one of the sponsors.

Blackpool mayor and mayoress, Councillors Fred and Pam Jackson, enjoyed hearing the full bell-ringing, bellowing panoply of 20 contestants in full cry.

The winner was Terry Stubbings, town crier for Lincoln, followed closely by Joe David of the Tower of London and Paul Gough, of Nuneaton and Bedworth, who also won the best Blackpool cry.

Town centre manager Nigel Hanson is already planning a repeat for next year: "It was a fantastic event," he said, "everybody thoroughly enjoyed it. It brought colour and spectacle to the town centre and I'm sure the town criers went away with excellent impressions of Blackpool's reception."

He paid tribute to all the town's businesses pulling together, especially the sponsors, including the Rose and Crown cafe-bar which threw a splendid meal for the contestants and guests, and Tandy PA Systems.

And the next proclamation on the town-crying front?

Hear ye, hear ye, keep your ears open for a job announcement - Blackpool may have its very own town crier by next year.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.