THE sound of booming voices echoed through the streets this weekend as town criers went head to head in a bid to be crowned the winner of a national competition.

Curious crowds gathered in Darlington’s market square to watch as eight town criers from across the country, including Alnwick, Bridlington, Chester-le-Street, Otley and Huddersfield, showed why they deserved to be crowned the winner of the town's fourth open town crier competition.

Clad in full regalia and accompanied by their equally extravagantly dressed escorts, the criers made two proclamations – one honouring the town where they are from, and the other marking the importance of 1945 and VJ Day.

They were then judged on accuracy, their confidence and engagement with the audience, their creativity and their appearance, with John Robinson, from Biddulph, Staffordshire, crowned the overall winner.

Despite suffering eight strokes in 2003 which left him hospitalised for three months and unable to walk, the statuesque 63-year-old has gone on to win countless crier competitions, including being named the British champion in 2005.

“I am now officially the biggest mouth in Darlington,” said Mr Robinson, who has since regained the use of his leg.

“The acoustics here are fantastic – they are tailor made for town crying. That is why I like coming here.

“The quality of criers was magnificent, and so to win is fantastic.”

Town criers were first heard in Britain in 1066 when news of the Norman invasion was passed from town to town by people employed to call out the king's proclamation.

Before people could read, town criers brought the news to the people, which could be anything from news about royal events, wars, executions and taxation, to new babies and minor misdemeanours.

Having read the headlines, the crier would pin them to the door of the local inn, leading to the phrase “posting a notice” and the eventual naming of newspapers as The Post.

Nowadays, while town criers are mainly ceremonial announcers, they are still officially appointed by the mayor and play an important role in spreading the word about their town.

Darlington’s town crier, Peter Stemmer, organised the lively event in a bid to honour the tradition and mark the historical importance of town criers.

“I think it is very important for me as a town crier to raise the profile of Darlington. We go around the country telling people about Darlington and why they should come here,” he said.

“You meet some real characters and I have made some fantastic friends from all over the UK.

“To be a town crier you have got to have the voice and the personality, and you have got to really want to do it.

“I am very blessed as my wife enjoys it as well, but it is not something you can play at.”