LONG hot days and the common sightings of pesky wasps left organisers of one of the region's longest running shows fearing the worst for their usually plumped-up and juicy entries.

But even the scorching summer sun didn't keep berry enthusiasts at bay as almost one hundred gooseberries yesterday made their way to a North York Moors village to be judged.

Eric Preston, chairman of the Egton Bridge Old Gooseberry Society, which runs the annual show, said he was both surprised and pleased with the turn out.

"With everyone's tales of woe after the hot summer weather I was in doubt about whether the show would be a success. I know many of the growers around here had problems and so I expected the same from further afield," he said.

However, competitors turned out in force from as far as Norfolk and Lincolnshire with their oversized berries - more like coloured hairy golf balls - in the hope that theirs were the pick of the bunch.

Gooseberry shows were once popular all across the North. Growing gooseberries for show started in the 18th Century in Lancashire, where workers' cottage gardens were ideally situated.

The pastime suffered badly after the First World War with numbers dropping from 170 to 20. Now there are only two shows left in the country - one in Cheshire and the other held in the school at Egton Bridge.

The North Yorkshire show has become a popular event on the calendar. But organisers were worried in 2001 when the foot-and-mouth outbreak forced them to cancel.

Luckily the following year attendance was better than ever.

Organisers and locals are very proud of the show's endurance, having run for more than 200 years. In keeping with tradition it hangs on to its quaint peculiarities.

Each gooseberry is weighed using old-fashioned scales and recorded in the pre-metric drams and grains. Two judges are on hand to check the berry is in sound condition.

In 1952 Tom Ventress became the World Champion Gooseberry Grower with a White Berry entry weighing in at a mighty 30 drams and 8 grains as recorded on the day, which is 55 grams or nearly 2 ounces and the size of an egg.

This year's winner was Graham Watson, of Danby, North Yorkshire, whose prize gooseberry of the Woodpecker variety weighed in at 30 drams and 10 grains.

But while the secret to a fleshy, winning berry is usually kept under wraps, Mr Preston let slip one technique. He said: "You will probably catch a few gooseberry growers on the North York Moors collecting sheep droppings.

"They are diluted down with water until it is the colour of weak tea and then fed to the gooseberries."